A Nap in a Lap by Sarah Wilson, Akemi Gutierrez (Illustrator)

From the Publisher

A little girl discovers the best place of all for a nap

"Snuzzled and fuzzled
and kissed on the nose,
or cozied in hay
or the tip of a rose . . ."

Baby animals take their naps in the most interesting places. Piglets snooze in haystacks. Ladybugs doze on rosebuds. But what's the best place for a tired little girl and her puppy to nap? Just like the other babies, they find the perfect sleepy spot.

Publishers Weekly

In this survey of various species' siesta spots, a pert, pigtailed girl and her dog travel from habitat to habitat, observing animals taking their midday snooze and occasionally imitating them. "It's easy to nap... sprawled upside down," writes Wilson (Big Day on the River), as the girl replicates the dozing habits of a trio of bats. A few pages later, the girl sips a cool drink atop a camel mom, who's catching 40 winks with her snuggling offspring in the shade of a palm tree ("snoozled in sand dunes"). As for the girl herself, a nap in the lap of her mother (with a blanket assist from dad) is the best spot of all. Although the non-rhyming text at times seems in search of rhythm, for the most part it rolls off the tongue in a flurry of evocative words and phrases (a baby giraffe is "snuzzled and fuzzled and kissed on the nose"). But it's Gutierrez's (What the Elephant Told) gouache pictures that drive the book. Combining bold shapes with confectionery colors in a style reminiscent of early 1960s animation, her work emits a beguiling sprightliness. The girl's broad, ovoid face echoes her wide, confident smile, while the animals exude an amiable quirkiness. Fun and persuasive, the book might just seduce even the most reluctant nappers. Ages 3-6. (Nov.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

PreS-"It's easy to nap/tucked into a flap-" reflects a little girl playing with her stuffed kangaroos and surrounded by other toys. Wilson's sweet verses set the scene as the child imagines enjoyable nap situations for each toy as well as for some other creatures, which appear in cuddly parent/baby pairs. Birds sleep "-snuggled in a nest," raccoons rest in "a log," and a kitten dozes in "a cap," "but the best nap for ME-/is a nap in a lap!" The book ends with a spread showing the girl contentedly sleeping on her mother's lap, while her father covers her with a blanket. The images exude comfort and security in such a pure form that the book is just barely rescued from the saccharine by a dash of the retro in Gutierrez's gouache art. There are simple sight jokes that rely on children's keen awareness: a mouse naps in a sock just inside a mouse hole and out of the little girl's range of vision while she registers surprise when she notices that she is wearing only one sock. This mild offering joins the recent spate of picture books that recognizes the specific needs of toddlers and successfully meets them.-Liza Graybill, Worcester Public Library, MA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

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