The Sandman - and His Burro - Ply Their Trade

THE BOOK OF THE SANDMAN AND THE ALPHABET OF SLEEP by Rien Poortvliet, Text by Will Huygen,

New York: Harry N. Abrams, 121 pp, $17.50

YOU probably haven't given it much thought but sleep doesn't just come about by itself. There is a Sandman and he works hard at his trade.

First he has to get the sand and clean it and sift it. Then he has to travel around the world tossing it in people's (and animals') eyes.

To do this he has a small burro, named Suzanne, who, thank heavens, can fly. He must have a good aim, because, well, there are all those eyes and he can carry only so much sand. He practices in his spare time.

The Sandman lives up in a small castle in the mountains, and ... well, there's more, a nice little story, all of which is explained with loving and candid detail in this charming and gentle book.

Just the thing for inducing a special intrigue to the act of stacking Z's. Good for children who want to stay up. Very suggestive. There are Poortvliet's paintings of animals falling asleep, and old men falling asleep, and babies falling asleep, and if you aren't going to be needing me this afternoon, I ... uh ... (yawn) ... think I'll knock off early. I'd like to finish this review but I ... zzt ... zzzzz.