This was a story about Poppy and Sam who are in the final stages of gathering for hibernation. As the two friends settle in, they find sleep doesn't come so easily. They visit other forest friends for bedtime advice and it turns out that these friends all hibernate also. I actually learned something new from this book as well!

I received an electronic ARC from Owlkids Books through NetGalley.
Charming story about two friends - a human and a panda - who prepare to hibernate for the winter. Unfortunately, Poppy can't fall asleep so wakes Sam up to get some tips. Together, they consult other animals who sleep too. Each offers advice that doesn't work. Eventually, they find animals (mice) who don't hibernate and join them. No surprise that both finally fall asleep.
This is book three in this series. Cathon's illustrations are detailed and capture the joy and friendship as well as the humor in this situation. Readers will love the characters and certainly relate to not being able to fall asleep.

With four grandchildren, two of them aged 4 1/2 , I’m always looking for cute bedtime stories. This one unfortunately fell short for me.

Poppy is a little girl and Sam is a Panda. Poppy can’t sleep and she asks her friend Sam how he gets to sleep when he hibernates? When his suggestions, including singing her a lullaby don’t work they ask their friends in the garden. They ask the bees, the ants and the mice what they do all winter. Finally they fall asleep together while visiting the mice.

I have all sorts of problems with this book because of incorrect messages to children. First off, Pandas (not really bears) do not hibernate. Also, only some bees hibernate, honey bees which they show in the book, do not hibernate they remain active and actually eat some of the honey that they make during the summer months and may come out to forage during warm winter days.

The drawings are cute enough but nothing very special.

I can’t really recommend this book because of the incorrect messages about these animals and insects. Even the littlest child should learn the real facts about animals, even in bedtime stories.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.


I could not find this book listed on Goodreads.

I think we can all relate to Poppy & Sam who are on the search for sleep....What a great bedtime story for all ages that's easy to read. Adorably illustrated & filled with new friends.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher for the eArc!
All opinions are my own.

This was such a delightful story with beatiful illustration! I loved the facial expressions so much!

And besides being a cute story it also teaches children about small forest animals and what they do during winter. I really loved that the ants read books before sleeping :D

I enjoyed this short book very much and if it is ever translated to Hungarian I will by it to my little nephew.

This was an adorable little tale. The illustrations are so cute and for well with the story. A great read to help little ones fall asleep.

This was adorable! The sweet illustrations and story about a little girl who can’t sleep is what perfect storybooks are made of. This was a quick and humorous read that is sure to keep both children and parents entertained.

Thank you to NetGalley and Owlkids Books for the ARC for an honest review

Poppy and Sam and the Search for Sleep is a charming picture book full of adorable characters and a sweet, fun story. Poppy and her panda friend Sam are all ready for a long winter's hibernation - but Poppy just can't fall asleep!
Their expedition leads Poppy and Sam to ask all the woodland creatures for tips tricks and ideas on ‘how to fall asleep’ is told simply, through easy language that will be fun to read aloud with a young one I want to be expressive with my nephews, cute illustrations full of the little details, I love them!

All in all this is a wonderful book ideal for reading before bedtime with the little ones. I can’t wait to read on the tablet with the boys.

With the cutest illustrations this book follows Poppy and Sam as they try to fall asleep to hibernate for the winter. I thought it was fun story with charming characters.

This was a really cute little story!

I thought that the illustrations in this book were absolutely delightful and the story is fun.

I am not sure on the little girl and the panda both hibernating for winter and it might have been better with other animals/creatures but the rest of the book was great.

It is 4 stars from me for this one – highly recommended!

Aww this was cuteness overload. I was attracted to the book because of the colourful cover. I wasn’t glad to see that the cute illustrations continued throughout till the last page.

I was also not disappointed with the storyline. Sleep would always be a relevant and relatable topic for kids and adults everywhere.

Poppy and Sam and the Search for Sleep is a delightful little picture book full of adorable characters and a sweet, fun story. Poppy and her panda pal Sam are all ready for a long winter's hibernation - but Poppy can't fall asleep! Their quest to ask all the woodland creatures for tips and tricks for how to fall asleep is told simply, through easy language that would be fun to read aloud with a young child, and expressive, cute illustrations full of rich details (like the expressions on the tiny little earthworms' faces). All told, it's a charming book ideal for reading before bedtime with the little ones.

Thank you to NetGalley and Owlkids Books for the advance review copy!

This was a cute book about animals and hibernation. Poppy and Sam are getting ready to hibernate and are all set with supplies but Poppy is wide awake and cannot fall asleep. They go around to the other hibernating animals and ask what helps them prepare for sleep to try out their tricks.

While a note entirely accurate portrayal of what animals do for hibernation, this was still a fun read. The images throughout are two page spreads that are beautifully illustrated with cute little animals and insects trying to help Poppy. I have read another Poppy and Sam book and think they are very easy and fun reads that children will enjoy, especially if they are nature and animal lovers.

Loved it! I read it with my four year old and 1 year old. They seemed to enjoy the story and the art work is beautiful. Will definitely be reading this again

Thanks to NetGalley and Owlkids Book for allowing my kids and me an early read on this super adorable hibernation story. The illustrations in this book are wonderful and the kids and I especially loved the use of speech bubbles and the comic book feel of the book. We have just finished a unit on hibernation so I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The kids wanted to read again. We look forward to purchasing and sharing with other friends.

Pub Date: 15 Oct 2020 
My Star Rating: 5
Kids Rating: 5

Poppy and Sam and the Search for Sleep was a very fun and educational book about hibernation; in the story a child can learn more about what animals hibernate, where they hibernate, and also why some animals don't hibernate. This story is cute and funny because humans don't hibernate but Sam, the panda companion, tries to help his human friend, Poppy, get to sleep for the winter. This story focuses on themes of bedtime, preparation, seasons changing, animals, hibernation, and animal habitats and practices. I would enjoy reading more books like this with my children, this one was delightful! Thank you, Cathon, for writing this beautiful and fun loving story.

This is a most adorable bedtime story for little (and big) ones. The illustrations are so very cute and the amusing story is told in dialogue.

Poppy, a girl, and Sam, a panda, are getting ready for fall. They part ways in order to hibernate but…Poppy just can’t sleep. Readers will delight as they see what happens next. Who do Poppy and Sam visit? What do they learn? What, paradoxically, sends them to dream land?

This is such a cute book. It would make a great addition to bookshelves of insomniacs.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.

This is a lovely bedtime story about tiny characters Poppy and Sam who want to hibernate but it's so hard to fall asleep. Everyone else in the forest has some advice, and some of it works better than the rest.

I read a digital ARC from Netgalley. The Kindle version was unreadable because the layout didn't look right on the Kindle app on my phone. This is a frequent problem I've come across with illustrated books downloaded from Netgalley, I think my Kindle app version is probably incompatible with the file type somehow. On the Netgalley shelf app it is cutely illustrated and filled with funny details.