Ralf, the sleepless calf

Ralf is a happy calf during the day. Together with his friends, he plays around happily in the meadow. Until the sun goes down and all his friends go to sleep. Ralf can't sleep. He hears noises everywhere, he sees shadows everywhere. Because he can't sleep, he goes to his friends in the meadow to see who is still awake. But all the calves are in a deep sleep.

Maybe the squirrels are still awake. Ralf always sees the squirrel family running around looking for nuts. Maybe they want to play with him. But the squirrels are also sleeping. Under the tree where the squirrels sleep, Ralf hears a soft snore, and the rabbit family is sleeping too. Even the birds are snoring in their nests.

Maybe when Ralf will count the sleeping sheep, he will fall asleep. Unfortunately, that doesn't help either. Finally, he shouts out loud and frustrated that he also wants to sleep. Vinny the Fox hears his cry for help and rustles out of the bushes to come and help Ralf. Vinny has an amazing idea that gets Ralf to fall asleep very quickly to wake up the next morning.

This funny written and illustrated story is a feast of recognition for parents of children with ADHD and/or autism. The inability to sleep, the alertness, the fear. Everything comes across in this story, along with funny drawings by the author.

The books by this author, Mireille van Yperen, are based on her experience as a mother of a child with ADHD and a child with autism. The challenges that came with this resulted in a lot of creativity in daily care and upbringing.

In addition to Ralf the sleepless calf, Mireille van Yperen has also written the books Corabella the Caterpillar and the secret of the magic bean, Charlie's first adventure, and OOPS, a funny story about the hiccups that went the wrong way.