The Napping House (Board book)

by Audrey Wood (Author), Don Wood (Illustrator) "There is a house, a napping house, where everyone is sleeping..." (more)
Key Phrases: snoring granny, napping house, cozy bed

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
There is a house,
a napping house,
where everyone is sleeping.

"Everyone," in this case is a snoring granny, a dreaming child, a dozing dog, a snoozing cat, a slumbering mouse... and a wakeful flea! Uh-oh. Looks like the napping house won't be napping for long. With their very own brand of humor, Audrey Wood and Don Wood create an appealing bedtime book compatible with Margaret Wise Brown's classic Goodnight Moon. This small, square board book, with its rhythmic, repetitive text and witty pictures in shades of ever-brightening blues and greens (as the night turns to day), is sure to be a winner with preschool insomniacs. The sleepy household congregates on Granny's bed, slowly building a very relaxed pile of bodies in shifting positions. Young readers will enjoy tracking the critters as they make their way, one by one, to the bed--and then guessing what will happen when the wakeful flea joins the heap. Be sure to look for this author-illustrator team's other hilarious collaborative efforts, including Piggies and Silly Sally. (Baby to preschool) --Emilie Coulter

Review
A picture-book favorite returns as an oversize board book just right for lap reading: The Napping House by Audrey Wood, illus. by Don Wood. The misty blue artwork that chronicles the "dreaming child," "snoring granny" and a number of additional snoozers seems to bleed off the pages with their rounded corners, until that "wakeful flea" disrupts the sleepers and the sunny colors signal the end of naptime. (Publishers Weekly )

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Product Details

• Reading level: Baby-Preschool
  
• Board book: 16 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; Brdbk edition (September 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152026320
• ISBN-13: 978-0152026325
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (106 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,856 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #1 in	Books > Children's Books > Issues > Sleep
  #2 in	Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( W ) > Wood, Audrey & Don
  #30 in	Books > Children's Books > Baby-3 > Bedtime & Dreaming

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars is not enough!!!!!, July 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Napping House (Hardcover)

I've been a bookseller, librarian, mother and read-aloud volunteer and this is my absolute favorite children's book for curling up with and reading to a young child. Cumulative, predictable (something young children enjoy) and engaging, The Napping House is terrific. The child in the story could be a boy or a girl. It opens and closes with an inviting look at the exterior of an old fashioned home (which looks like the author's home, BTW). Inside the house, everyone is alseep, but there's soooo much going on here. The characters are changing positions. The changes in perspective and the light as the book progresses make it interesting. The illustrations are amazing, detailed, beautiful, and at the same time humorous. And the Granny! You've got to love this Granny. She there just snoring, wearing her bed cap, nightgown and stockings (with reinforced toes & heels). She has all of these characters piling up on her and when the bed breaks, instead of looking mad or alarmed, she just looks like she's having a grand time. After you get this book, you'll want King Bidgood's in the Bathtub, and Piggies also by the Woods. And if your child likes things a bit scary try Heckedy Peg. Happy reading!

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read at Bedtime, October 28, 2000

By	Roz Levine (Virginia) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This is the Napping House, where everyone is sleeping. It's dark, raining and very subdued. First there's the cozy bed, followed by the snoring granny, the dreaming child, dozing dog, snoozing cat, slumbering mouse and finally, the wakeful flea. And then the wakeful flea bites the mouse... The team of Audrey and Don Woods has put together a wonderful, gentle bedtime story pre-schoolers will want to hear again and again. With easy to read, repetitive text and beautifully detailed, expressive illustrations, youngsters watch the ever growing pile of sleeping bodies move, change position and then slowly lighten and brighten as one by one, everyone wakes up. As the book ends, the last page shows the napping house where no one is sleeping. It's sunny and cheerful with a rainbow in the sky. This is a classic the whole family will enjoy and a must for all home libraries.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great bedtime fare, October 18, 2001

By	audrey (white mtns) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Ah, is there anything more relaxing than a cozy nap in a warm house on a rainy day? Every inhabitant of the The Napping House manages to pile on to granny's bed for a few sociable ZZZZZs, until that damnable wakeful flea appears! If you remember cumulative stories such as "the old woman who swallowed the fly (I don't know why she swallowed that fly)", then you'll know what to expect from this charming and funny book. The illustrations are tremendous, and will keep the book fresh even after many readings. This is a book that an adult reader will enjoy, too. The board book is sturdy and easy to clean.