ROMEOVILLE, IL — Romeoville-based author Megan Deliberto has released her third children’s book, “Sleep Stegosauraus: A Naptime Story.” Deliberto previously wrote “No Place for a Lizard” and “Bruno’s Best Birthday.”
Her latest book is a naptime story for babies to six-year-olds, she told Patch.
The story is about a dinosaur named Stanley who normally loves playing dino games, but today he’s just too tired to play.
“Some of his dinosaur friends react badly to Stanley’s news, but his friend Cooper helps him understand that there are many different reasons why his body might be particularly sleepy and that rest is always best in the end,” Deliberto said.
The idea for the book came from a drawing of a Stegosaurus made by Deliberto’s son.
“He wanted to throw it away, and I told him I would write a story about it. It reminded me of all the hours I spent cuddling with him and reading him bedtime stories, and I hope the little sleepy stegosaurus can be part of someone else’s nap routine,” Deliberto said.
When asked how this book was different from her others, Deliberto said it was much shorter than her other two children’s books.
“I tend to be very wordy, and conciseness is important, especially in the children’s genre. No Place for a Lizard and Bruno’s Best Birthday are both considered long for children’s stories, so now I take the time to summarize as many sentences as possible rather than writing the story up and sending it to the editor,” she told Patch.
Since this story is intended for the youngest readers, she set a word limit and stuck to it. Sleepy Stegosaurus: A Naptime Story is 527 words, while her previous two books are nearly 2,000 words.
“Sleepy Stegosaurus: A Naptime Story” is available on Deliberto’s website and will be released September 15th on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and wherever books are sold.
