You Are Not Sleepy!

A first acrylic image by Teague (King Kong's Cousin ) sets the comic stakes of this naptime picture book: an anthropomorphized, brown-spotted pink piglet in a mesh-sided crib reaches plaintively toward the departing human hand, portrayed with brown skin, holding a picture book. Now that storytime is over, the pig faces a familiar problem: it may be time for a nap, but "you are not sleepy." Unable to get comfortable, the would-be snoozer takes matters into its own hooves. Clambering out of the playpen, the protagonist ostensibly begins crafting a more soporific environment, only to engage in a spiraling chain of actions and reactions. Closing a window shade, for example, leads to turning on a flashlight that lures moths into the room, while spilling a glass of water leads to the pig's blow-drying everything in sight--including its own armpits. When the creature finally feels cozy, a new arrival suddenly shifts the character from nap avoider into stern nap enforcer. It's storytelling hog heaven, with narrative twists, delightfully deadpan visuals, and resonant themes of autonomy, mischievousness, ingenuity, and emerging responsibility. Ages 4-8. (Oct.)

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