Dragon Naps

The number-hungry stars of One Day, Two Dragons return for another counting adventure. This time, the two friends are commanded to bed by ""THREE words: `Time for naps.' "" But sleep doesn't come easy, and the dragons wrestle with uncomfortable sheets, play games, make silly enumerated lists of things they hate and love, draw pictures and listen to the fun beyond their bedroom window. When they've exhausted all their ideas, the dragons are, well, exhausted, and drift to dreamland while counting backward from one million. There's a logistical glitch: dragons who are old enough to organize kickball games, type on a typewriter and write in a diary seem far beyond the age of mandatory napping. But the text is filled with humor and, of course, numbers. For great counting reinforcement, the words for numbers one through 20 appear in a bold, colored typeface, cleverly and sequentially worked into the text. Street takes Bertrand's jokes and visually runs with them, right down to spiky dragon toes sticking up beneath bed sheets and the dragon-esque touches in home decor. Her predominantly green and yellow watercolor vignettes capture the story's light mood. Nap-resistant tots--and their sometimes exasperated caregivers--will especially take to this tale. Ages 3-8. (Mar.)