Eve Merriam's beloved poetry tenderly holds our hearts in this timeless collection of bedtime poetry. Gorgeous illustrations and dreamy stanzas lull even the liveliest little one off to sleep.

"You be the tree, I'll be the pears, carry me, carry me, up the stairs."

Starry Blankets: Poems for Bedtime is perfect for lap reading or snuggling under the covers, includes more than twenty of Merriam's most known and most loved poems. Selected from across her long career, this collection is a great introduction to this icon in children's poetry.

Nice and Tight
You be saucer,
I’ll be cup,
piggyback, piggyback,
pick me up

You be tree,
I’ll be pears,
carry me, carry me
up the stairs.

You be Good,
I’ll be Night,
tuck me in, tuck me in
nice and tight.

Eve Merriam was an Obie Award-winning playwright and a winner of the National Council of the Teachers of English (NCTE) Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. During her distinguished career she authored more than fifty books, including It Doesn't Always Have To Rhyme, 12 Ways to Get to 11, The Inner City Mother Goose, and Low Song. Ms. Merriam died in 1992.

Ryan G. Van Cleave wrote his first poem at age five, and he’s been writing, reading, and loving poetry ever since. He earned a PhD in American literature with an emphasis in poetry and has taught at numerous colleges and universities. As The Picture Book Whisperer, he helps celebrities and high-profile clients write picture books and kidlit projects.

Sejung Kim is an illustrator and author who lives and works in France. She often works on early childhood subject matter, and she has several books published by different publishing houses in France such as Flammarion, Milan, Hatchet, Gründ, Larousse, Auzou, and Lito.