What a sweet book! While Mommy Was Fast Asleep is a picture book suited for young children, perhaps ages 3-7. It's a story about a child who is blind and her older sister. The younger child is awake during the night due to not feeling well, and her sister lovingly helps her while trying to be quiet -- Mommy is fast asleep, so they think.

Written in verse, the rhythm makes for a pleasant read-aloud and the font on my digital copy suggests the text is large on the printed page. The black text on a solid white background is also likely an intentional choice to make it more readable for those with certain visual impairments. The full-color illustrations are realistic and interesting to look at -- and I'd encourage you to spend some time on each page really looking at what is depicted, since some crucial details to the story are only revealed in the illustrations.

This inclusive story focuses on siblings' love for one another, and the tender care provided by the older sister. The younger sister's vision impairment isn't addressed in the text, but there are clues in the illustrations. More information is provided in an "about the book" section, which I'm hoping is also available in the final print copy. A teacher's guide is available online.

Recommended for a read-aloud to the younger set, for classrooms, libraries.

Thanks to NetGalley and Vestra Lingua Kids for the free digital review copy. ( )