A little tiger takes an imaginative journey

The little tiger lay on his back in the tall grass.
"Close your eyes, little tiger," said his mother, "and go to sleep."

But the little tiger is worried about what sleep might bring.
His mother reassures him that once he closes his eyes, he will dream of magical places. And when he awakens, she will be right there, waiting for him.

Alternating between real-life scenes with the baby tiger and his mother and enchanted dream scenes of sleep's possibilities, Kate Banks's simple, comforting text and Georg Hallensleben's bright, colorful illustrations make this a charming bedtime story for small children.

Close Your Eyes is a 2002 New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year and a 2003 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

This book was recognised in the Picture Book category by the Georgia Children's Book Award. It was recognised in the Grades K-2 category by the Buckeye Children's Book Award.

There are 40 pages in this book. This is a picture book. A picture book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The number of words varies from zero ('wordless') to around 1k over 32 pages. Picture books are typically aimed at young readers (age 3-6) but can also be aimed at older children (7+). This book was published 2002 by Pan Macmillan South Africa .

Author Kate Banks and illustrator Georg Hallensleben have collaborated on several books, including And If the Moon Could Talk , winner of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, The Cat Who Walked Across France , Baboon , and The Night Worker , winner of the Charlotte Zolotow Award. Banks lives in the South of France with her husband and two sons. Hallensleben lives in Paris. Anne Gutman lives and works in France with her husband Georg Hallensleben and their daughter. Georg Hallensleben was born in Germany, lived in Rome and now lives in Paris. He is the illustrator of several book for children.