Here's one bedtime story full of fun and humor that your child will ask you to read again and again. Winner of the Buckaroo Book Award, The Napping House begins with simple sentences that set a steady reading cadence, but the sentences pick up pace rapidly as they build onto one another until reaching a hilarious climax that will surely put a smile on your little one's face. The sentences build on one another, gradually getting longer with plenty of repetition. The pictures are highly detailed paintings, and the colors increase as the story picks up pace; by the time everyone on the bed is awake, the room is filled with a rainbow of bright colors. The images of a snoring granny with a child, dog, cat, mouse, and flea atop her are certainly good for a few giggles!
The book also comes with an interactive CD, so you and your little one can enjoy the pictures together while hearing a new voice read the story aloud, or you can sing and dance to six different songs related to the book. Your child will quickly learn the story because of the repetition and sentence building, so they can recite it to you and flip the pages, or you can say their favorite lines together. The building anticipation of the mound of sleeping animals waking each other up one-by-one is also fun and entertaining.
One time after reading this to my four-year-old niece, Emily, she decided to reenact the story by piling her stuffed animals on top of herself. I helped her out a bit by supplying the new story, "There was a tired Tigger, snoozing on a squishy Pooh Bear, resting on a fuzzy teddy bear, snuggling up to Emily!" She was in giggles by the end!
--Audra