I Will Take a Nap! by Mo Willems (review)

Tired, cranky Gerald wisely recognizes that a nap is just what he needs to feel good again, and he quickly settles into sleep with his blankie and Knuffle Bunny (from Knuffle Bunny, BCCB 10/04). In his subsequent dream, Piggie disturbs his nap, and Gerald’s grouchy response to her interruption makes her so cranky that she, too, wants to take a restorative rest. Her “special buddy” for napping is a stuffed elephant (which Gerald finds endearing), and soon both pals are off to dreamland—until Piggie’s snores keep Gerald from sleeping. When Gerald throws a fit about not being able to sleep and declares, “I am NOT enjoying my nap, Piggie! I am NOT napping!”, she counters with “But, if you are not napping, how can I be floating?” as Gerald’s dream takes a wacky turn. A page turn reveals further slumberous silliness from Piggie: “And WHY is my head a TURNIP?” (“Good question,” agrees Knuffle Bunny). Finally Gerald awakens from his dream, and when the real Piggie asks if he had a good nap, he can’t resist replying: “I sure did, Turnip Head.” You can’t go wrong with Elephant and Piggie, and parents and teachers will especially appreciate Willems’ efforts to put a positive spin on naptime, although this title is more likely to induce hysterical giggling than sanity-restoring snoozing. Kids will be tickled by the crabby outbursts from both Gerald and Piggie but will find particularly amusing the “turnip head” scenes (the sight of Knuffle Bunny and the stuffed elephant chanting, “She’s a floating TURNIP HEAD!” will slay them). Beginning readers will easily be able to tackle this text, and Willems’ illustrations remain a perfect blend of slapstick and simplicity. For double the turnip fun, pair this with Thomas’ A Birthday for Cow (BCCB 7/08).