Molly Bang’s Ten, Nine, Eight is a beautifully written children’s book that counts down to a child’s bedtime. Each illustration is lovingly detailed with a mixture of childlike wonder and soft, comforting colors. Each picture builds upon the previous one’s scene, displaying tiny glimpses of a single child’s room. This almost makes the book appear to provide a peek into the way a child views the world—or at least his or her own bedroom—and, indeed, most of the illustrations are from the child’s point of view in the story, as you can see from the first picture of the child’s toes sticking out in front of her.

The story is very simple and begins with the number ten. A photo of the child’s feet is accompanied by the text, “10 small toes all washed and warm.” Immediately this simple yet familiar scenario rushes memories to us and our children of being washed and ready for bed, setting a very cozy and sleepy scene that only gets more restful as the story proceeds.

The quiet room is described in the next scene, which displays “9 soft friends” who are piled in the child’s room—a doll, bear, monkey, penguin and other assorted animals. The child’s own live cat sits in the middle of them all, furthering the imagery of a calm bedtime scene. After all, what’s more sleep-inducing than cats curled in circles? The child’s toes still show, though less prominently in the picture, connecting her proximity to her animal friends.

The tale continues to softly count down the items in the room—the falling snow depicted in 8 window panes, 7 tiny shoes laid out beneath the bed, 6 seashells in a mobile… all of these images contain an element from the previous image (often the cat), making each one flow gently and smoothly into one another.

The little girl is then shown in her father’s lap, with “5 round buttons” on her nightgown. This is one of my favorite pictures, as they both look so comfortable and sleepy, and there are so many details—a rainbow-covered lampshade, wallpaper, a textured chair—that make it feel so soothing, like an actual bedtime ritual.

The story continues with two sets of sleepy eyes and three loving kisses before being put to bed, following with two arms around the girl’s favorite bear and—of course—one “big girl” in her bed, ready to go to sleep.