Say "Yes" to the Nap! No Nap! Yes, Nap! by Margie Palatini

MAMA SAYS, NAP!

Baby thinks otherwise.

And the chase is on! Baby streaks, his blankie streaming, with Mama giving chase, from room to room, through the house, each of them repeating their mantra...Yes, nap! No nap! as they go.

Mama chases Baby energetically, under the table and into the kitchen, with her speedy little one always a couple of steps ahead.

Baby also knows how to stall. He demands a drink, downs a whole glass of milk, and then speeds off again. He starts a clapping game, and although Mama joins in, growing closer, he slides out of her grasp again. He sings, Mama chimes in, but he slips away once more.

Finally, he wants a story.

Aha! Mama senses an opening, taking the storybook onto her lap in the big comfy chair, and Baby can't resist climbing up and settling down, head against Mama's shoulder. There's a yawn, and then Baby rubs his sleepy eyes, and as Mama settles the blankie over them both, she knows she's got it made.

NOW BABY NAP.

BIG LONG NAP

ON MAMA'S LAP

At last Baby says yes to the nap. But it's not just Baby who catches a few winks, in Margie Palatini's latest, No Nap! Yes Nap! (Little, Brown Books, 2014). Artist Dan Yaccarino catches the spirit of the chase in his ebullient illustrations which move from left to right throughout the book, until drowsiness catches up with both Mama and Baby on the final pages and they come, happily, to rest. Yaccarino's running redheads are cheery and in great spirits throughout, and Palatini's brief text quickly becomes a refrain for little ones and an easy read for emergent readers. A jolly new way to "catch a nap!"