Destiny Ink: Sleepover Surprise by Adeola Sokunbi

This charming chapter book for advancing readers will delight and reassure any kid looking forward to the exciting experience of their very first sleepover!

Alas, my own first sleepover was not a great time. I was seven years old and my best friend was my next door neighbor, who was a grade or two ahead of me. I found her friends confusingly mature — they wanted to talk about boys and kissing and pranks — and they probably thought I was a baby. After we all eventually fell asleep, I woke up with a desperate case of homesickness and had to go home. Later, my best friend told me that I’d ruined her slumber party. We did not remain best friends for long.

Fortunately, Destiny Ink has a much better experience than I did, even tho she and her hamster Fuzzy are both extremely nervous about what’s not only her first sleepover but also her first experience sleeping outdoors. Her best friend Olivia has invited her to come sleep in a tent in Olivia’s backyard. Destiny is excited but also a little scared. It’ll be awfully dark when they go to bed. What if there are monsters?

Destiny decides that what she and Fuzzy need is a little practice, so builds an indoor tent the night before. Imagine her surprise when she discovers a lost monster and his pet rustling around in there after she’s gone to bed! The duo are just as afraid of her as she is, theoretically, of them. Destiny knows that she doesn’t want anyone to feel as scared as she’d once been, so decides to be the perfect sleepover host, even if she’s never actually had a sleepover herself before. Will helping the lost monster in this way adequately prepare her for camping out with Olivia?

This series debut features a winning, kindhearted protagonist who might be afraid of creepy shadows, but definitely isn’t afraid to be compassionate, both to others and to herself. It helps that her parents and Olivia’s are quick to reassure her that she can always ask to come inside, or even go home if need be. Some people call this gentle parenting (and say it like that’s a bad thing) but I think it’s a very reasonable way to show a kid that you always have options, and that it’s okay to sit with what you’re feeling before making a reasoned choice instead of stubbornly persisting in a set course out of fear, whether it’s fear of the dark or of being ridiculed.

I also love that Destiny’s Blackness plays a role in this book, primarily through her night time hair wrapping ritual. Normalizing things that are par for the course in Black and other non-majority cultures (this book is set in the United Kingdom but could just as easily take place here in the United States) makes it harder for anyone to act like they’re shameful or weird or should be hidden away. It was lovely to see her bring an extra hair wrap for Olivia, who is not Black, to try: the girls had a lot of fun learning how to protect their locks before bed.

The drawing pages in the back are a nice bonus, too. Overall, this is a terrific chapter book for young readers learning to be both brave and kind by way of encouragement and options, not via shame or a misguided sense of obligation.

Destiny Ink: Sleepover Surprise by Adeola Sokunbi was published April 14 2026 by Nosy Crow and is available from all good booksellers, including