The Napping House
Author: Audrey Wood
Illustrator: Don Wood
Published: 1984
Pages: 32
Age Range: 2+
Genre: Fiction/Picture book
Cover Score: ****
Overall Score: ****
Rating: G
First Sentence: There is a house, a napping house, where everyone is sleeping.
In ‘This is the house that Jack built’ style, the prose builds and builds on itself as each of the inhabitants of the house (a snoring granny, a dreaming child, a dozing dog, a snoozing cat, and a slumbering mouse) all pile onto the cozy bed for a perfect nap while the rain outside beats against their window. And then a wakeful flea bites the mouse setting off a chain of events that leads to nobody sleeping, a broken bed and the dispersed rain storm.
I love the progression of the storm visible through the window and the perpetually smiling faces, even while asleep. The text is rhythmic and good listeners will be able to repeat the phrases with you as they build.
A successful husband and wife team, all of the Woods’s books are great for reading aloud; King Bidgood, Silly Sally and yesterday's aforementioned Mouse and the Big Hungry Bear being my top picks. The text is concise but playful; the illustrations are lush and full of humor and lovely little details.
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