The Napping House by Audrey and Don Wood

Such a simple concept that makes a wonderful story, The Napping House is a delight to read. Like any other ordinary night, the granny is sleeping, but one by one, a range of both people and creatures combine and sleep onto the bed. However, the flea begins a series of commotion, and a tumbling effect results until everyone is up, and the bed breaks. With the sun out, a new day begins.

The humor in this story doesn't come from the words on the page as much as it stems from the pictures. As oil paintings, the pictures are full of the building chaos, as one by one, the creatures gather atop the bed. The bed is shown as a giant heap with arms and legs draped all over the bed and on the others in the bed. With just the movement of a flea, the domino effect takes hold. Rather than being upset about being roused, instead everyone laughs it off. The last picture with the rainbow completes the story on an even happier note as the granny and child smile, and the animals play gleefully. The story reminds me of a rainy night when children get scared of the storm outside complete with thunder and lightning. The kids crawl into bed with their parents to snuggle to escape the storm. Slowly, the bed becomes crowded, and it's impossible to move even an inch without bumping someone else. If The Napping House hadn't included the rain in its setting, the story would have changed and not

felt as complete.

Written in 1984, this story is still as relevant and humorous as always. Don and Audrey Wood know their child audience and know the slapstick humor that will strike a chord with young readers. I do see this story as more of a bedtime story than one to read aloud in the classroom, but just the same, it's a good-natured story with a memorable story line. I would consider keeping it in my classroom library. Due to the repetitious words as the creatures gather on the bed, students can develop their reading skills and make predictions about what will happen next.