The Sleeper Train by Mick Jackson

The Sleeper Train by Mick Jackson

WINNER OF THE V&A ILLUSTRATION AWARD 2026
SHORTLISTED FOR THE CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR ILLUSTRATION

There is a train which has beds in their own small cabins so that you can sleep while the train rolls through the night. I went on one, not long ago…

Just as it’s starting to get dark, a little girl and her family board the sleeper train – they’ll travel all through the night, and reach their destination in the morning. But as the train rocks from side to side, the little girl can’t sleep. It’s all too exciting!

So, instead, she travels through her memory to all the different places she has slept – from her room at home, to a tent in the wild, to Mum’s old room at Grandma and Grandad’s house... But will that help her to drift off?

Gloriously illustrated in rich colours throughout, and written by a Booker shortlisted author, this captivating bedtime story will take readers on a journey through the vast Indian countryside, and carry them straight on to dreamland.

"A lilting cultural touchstone great for bedtime.” Booklist

"A warm-hearted tale of family love and togetherness .... a soothing bedtime story." Red Reading Hub

“This visually vibrant yet gentle bedtime book promises, like the sleeper train, to calm and soothe readers.” The Horn Book (starred review)

“Comforting, vibrant, soothing.” Kirkus Reviews

“Layers feelings of comfort and warmth across time and space.” Publishers Weekly

A warm-hearted tale of family love and togetherness. . [a] soothing bedtime story. * Red Reading Hub *

Mick Jackson is an author from Lancashire, who now lives in Brighton. His first novel, The Underground Man, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, the Whitbread First Novel Award and won the Royal Society of Authors’ First Novel Award. He has since written three more novels, a novella and a collection of stories. He is also the author of picture books: While You're Sleeping, The Red Sledge, Ella May Does It Her Way and We're Moving House. Find Mick online at mickjackson.com

Baljinder Kaur is an illustrator living in the Midlands. She graduated from the Cambridge School of Art with a Masters degree in Children's Book Illustration and, in 2022, was awarded the CSACBI Illustration for Older Fiction Prize. Her work intimately reflects through the lens of a Panjabi and Sikh diaspora existence. You can find her online at baljinderkaur.com and on Instagram as @blahjinder.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781529535150
ISBN 10	1529535158
Title	The Sleeper Train
Author	Mick Jackson
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Walker Books Ltd
Year published	2026-05-07
Number of pages	32
Prizes	Nominated for Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration 2026 (UK)
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.