Jolena has insomnia (in-SAWM-nee-ah),
Her eyes can never close.
This means the girl can’t sleep at night.
Not even can she doze.
Jolena can’t sleep. She’s very tired. She has tried everything she has heard for how a person can sleep at night:
Getting out in the fresh air every day.
Pretending to drink a nice cup of warm milk at bedtime.
Turning off the TV and all other devices (dee-VEYS-ez) at least 30 minutes before going to bed.
Taking a nice, warm bath at bedtime.
Counting sheep.
Reading a very boring book in bed.
Nothing has worked.
Finally, Jolena asked Mandy why she seems so rested when she gets out of bed in the morning.
“It’s very important to get a good night’s sleep,” Mandy told her.
“But I can’t sleep at all!” Jolena cried. “I just stare at the ceiling all night.
Mandy looked puzzled. “How can you stare at the ceiling all night if you’re wearing your sleep mask?” she asked.
“Sleep mask?” Jolena asked. “What’s a sleep mask?”
Mandy looked around in the girls’ clothes basket and pulled out a soft piece of blue fabric with lace all around the edges. “This,” she said, “is a sleep mask. We each have one.”
“Children can’t sleep if they don’t close their eyes,” Mandy went on. “Dolls can’t sleep if they can see,” she explained. “Many dolls have eyes that close when they lie down. That can be a problem if they want to read in bed…
…or watch the clouds up in the sky.”
“Our eyes are always open, so we can see to do those things,” Mandy went on. “It’s why you can do somersaults in the air on your skis and see where to land. You will need a sleep mask to sleep, though.” Mandy dug around again in the clothes basket.
She found another sleep mask, so they each had one.
Jolena had insomnia,
Her eyes would never close.
This meant the girl could never sleep.
Not even could she doze.
But fashion has a cure for this!
A sleep mask for her eyes.
This means she now can sleep at night.
So rested she can rise.
Just a peek to say, “Thanks Mandy!”
Now Jolena can get a good night’s rest each night and wake up each morning ready for the day’s adventures.
Goodnight, Jolena! Sleep well!
Cast--
Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen
Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015
This story is included in Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook, available from booksellers or your local library.
You can follow The Doll's Storybook here.
Do you have questions or comments for us? Would you like to order an autographed copy of one of our books? You can email us at thedollsstorybook@icloud.com.
Note: No dolls were harmed during production of this blog. All dolls shown are Götz Happy Kidz, Classic Kidz or Little Kidz. If you like these stories and are willing, please make a donation of any amount to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or any organization that supports pediatric cancer research and treatment. We are not affiliated with St. Jude in any way other than these donations.
"The Doll's Storybook" is not affiliated with Gotz Dolls USA Inc. or Götz Puppenmanufaktur International GmbH.
Watch for the next story each Friday afternoon at 1:00 PM Pacific Time.
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"The Doll's Storybook" is not affiliated with Gotz Dolls USA Inc. or Götz Puppenmanufaktur International GmbH.
Watch for the next story each Friday afternoon at 1:00 PM Pacific Time.
Do you like our stories? Some of them are available in print:
The stories in Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Being Little, Besties and Distraction.
The stories in Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Best Buds, Getting What You Want and The Boys Cook Dinner.
The stories in Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Little Green Greatcoat, The Boy Doll Who Cried Wolf and Lost in the Woods.
Our book of poems, Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook includes Valentine's Day, Keeping Pets, Back to School, Victor the Vulture, The Week Before Christmas, Insomnia and Veronika's Vocabulary Verses.
The stories in More Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Welcoming a Stranger, The Rescue, Unmasked, Fuzzy Town––A Play and Sky Blue.
Available now from BookBaby and other booksellers: Billy: Stories from The Doll's Storybook. The Stories in Billy: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Talking About Boys, Changes, Shhhhh!, Staying After and Money in a Jar.
If you don't get free shipping from Amazon or B&N, buy from the BookBabyBookshop, because 50% of the price goes to St. Jude. Other booksellers pay much less, because the vendor gets a cut. The Writer's author's page at Book Baby is here. Scroll down and click on any of the books that interest you. Find our books at Barbara's Bookstore as well, or ask your library to get them for you.
Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.
Copyright © 2018, 2026 by Peggy Stuart
