No Nap! Yes Nap!

In the four words of the title and page after page of gleeful mischief, Palatini (Stuff) and Yaccarino (Count on the Subway) sum up the eternal nap-time dialectic. This Mama and Baby may share the same exuberantly curly auburn ’do, but when Mama announces with endearingly mistaken confidence that it’s naptime, Baby rejects the offer and leads her on a merry, blankie-toting chase (“Nap, yes, says Mama. Yes yes yes! Nap, no! No no no!”) through their stylized, pastel-hued house. Baby is able to wrangle a song (a wonderful moment in which both mother and child channel their inner “Broadway Baby”), a “big, long” drink of milk, and a story before succumbing to shut-eye, by which time Mama is ready for a snooze, as well. The single plane, largely profile illustrations lend a quirky formal elegance to the chase and give Yaccarino plenty of opportunity to revel in his métier—the human body in comic motion. Mama’s running form would make the winged-footed Mercury jealous. Up to age 3. [em]Author’s agent: Linda Pratt, Wernick & Pratt. Illustrator’s agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House. (Aug.) [/em]