No More Naps!: A Story for When You're Wide-Awake and Definitely NOT Tired

by Chris Grabenstein, Leo Espinosa (Illustrator)

Overview

Imagine if you could steal your toddler's nap? This picture book debut from a #1 New York Times bestselling author turns the universal dilemma of getting kids to sleep upside down!

It's time for a nap but, just like stubborn toddlers everywhere, Annalise Devin McFleece won't have anything to do with bedtime. Dad tries to encourage sleepiness by pushing her around the park in her stroller. Along the way, they pass a man sitting on a bench, dog walkers walking dogs, a boy on a skateboard, kids playing ball, a girl practicing her juggling, and others. Each of them thinks that taking a nap is a great idea and if Annalise Devin McFleece doesn't want hers, they'll happy take it. And one by one, everyone falls asleep...except Annalise Devin McFleece. But when she's finally ready for her nap, all the naps are taken! Is there anyone who has an extra nap to spare?

With every turn of the page, the busy city scene becomes more and more quiet...except for Annalise Devin McFleece.

Will she ever take a nap?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781524771287
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	02/04/2020
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	401,266
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD560L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

CHRIS GRABENSTEIN is the New York Times bestselling author of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics, Mr. Lemoncello's Great Library Race, The Island of Dr. Libris, and the Welcome to Wonderland series, as well as the coauthor of numerous page-turners with James Patterson, including Word of Mouse, Max Einstein: The Genius Experiment, and the I Funny, House of Robots, and Treasure Hunters series. Chris lives in New York City. Visit Chris at ChrisGrabenstein.com and on Twitter at @CGrabenstein.

Leo Espinosa is a New York Times bestselling illustrator and designer from Bogotá, Colombia. His work has been featured in a variety of publications, products, animated series and gallery shows worldwide. His short list includes The New Yorker, Wired, Esquire, The New York Times, The Atlantic, Nickelodeon, Hasbro, American Greetings, and Facebook. Leo's award-winning illustrations have been recognized by American Illustration, Communication Arts, Pictoplasma, 3x3, and the Society of Illustrators. In addition, he has given multiple lectures and workshops at schools and institutions such as Parsons School of Design and Pratt Institute as well as serving on the faculty of the Rhode Island School of Design.
He lives with his family in Salt Lake City, Utah. Visit him at studioespinosa.com or follow him on Twitter @veloespinosa.

Editorial Reviews

10/21/2019

A nap is a terrible thing to waste. So when a very stubborn pigtailed girl named Annalise Devin McFleece refuses to take one (“NOOOOOO!”), even after her desperate father has taken her on a hopefully soporific stroller ride in the warm sun, a gentleman on a park bench offers, “If she won’t take a nap, may I have it please?” Soon, “every single creature in the whole park had decided to take a nap”—even the lamppost pigeons are snoring. But with no one for her to “fuss, fume, scream, or shriek at,” Annalise’s lids grow heavy until she realizes that there are no naps left for her. Maybe a friendly cat has a nap to spare? It may take a few beats for Grabenstein’s (Shine!) idiomatic twist to sink in, but once it does, the idea that naps are opportunities to be eagerly seized is an amusing reframing. Espinosa (Islandborn), whose cheery, gently ironic drawing style may remind readers of Crockett Johnson’s, draws outdoor nappers of every stripe—from a bucket drummer snoozing on top of his instruments to a hairstylist and client enjoying 40 winks in the middle of a blow dry. Ages 3–7. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

Preschoolers will find the defiant protagonist's protests a little bit thrilling and 100% funny…. Screamingly fun." —Kirkus Reviews

“The idea that naps are opportunities to be eagerly seized is an amusing reframing." —Publishers Weekly

“Known for the Mr. Lemoncello series, Grabenstein offers a mildly amusing tale of a strong-willed child who changes her mind, and Espinosa contributes a series of lively illustrations featuring expressively drawn characters.” —Booklist

From the Publisher

01/01/2020

PreS-Gr 1—Most toddlers desperately need a nap but will do anything in their power to avoid one, and Annalise Devin McFleece is no exception. Her parents try to get her to take a nap, but Annalise fusses, fumes, and screams so loud that the entire neighborhood knows that she was NOT napping. Her desperate father decides to take her on a walk through the neighborhood in her stroller. He begs her to nap as he pushes her through the hustle and bustle of the neighborhood, but stubborn Annalise continually says no and keeps her eyes wide open. They run into a man lying on a bench, who asks if he can have Annalise's nap if she doesn't want to take it. Soon, everyone in the neighborhood realizes just how sleepy they feel and everyone begins to fall asleep; the dog walker, the baker, the construction workers, the police officers, even Annalise's father. Everyone is asleep except for Annalise, which, in true toddler fashion, makes her so angry because everyone has something that she doesn't. Annalise exclaims, "I want to take a nap" and finally, she does. Very detailed illustrations paint the picture of an entire community dozing, including a hairstylist asleep while his blow-dryer is on and a waiter fast asleep while still holding a hot bowl of soup. VERDICT Recommended for picture book collections and families with young children who will relate to the very real struggle for naps.—Kristen Todd-Wurm, Middle Country Public Library, NY

School Library Journal

2019-11-05
Can a book about napping be a lively story? Why, yes. Meet Annalise.

Middle-grade novelist Grabenstein, perhaps best known for the Mr. Lemoncello's Library series, turns to picture books in this story of a spunky toddler who prefers shrieking to napping. Her weary father pushes her through town in a stroller, hoping it will lull her to sleep. The two discover that the townspeople, one by one, are more than happy to "take" Annalise's nap in her stead. Everyone stops in their tracks to get some shut-eye while Annalise is "the only one in the whole wide sleepy world who would not fall asleep." When she's finally ready to, she can't; "all the naps had already been taken!" Cue more shouting: "I WANT TO TAKE A NAP!" Grabenstein writes chummily, often directly addressing readers ("Do you know anyone like that?"). The book's display type plays with font size and color to accentuate Annalise's wails, and Espinosa fills the retro illustrations, reminiscent of mid-20th-century classics, with funny details, including snoozing pigeons, fish, and ducks. Preschoolers will find the defiant protagonist's protests a little bit thrilling and 100% funny. Delightfully, the front endpapers feature a large, red "WAAAAAH!"; the closing ones, a small, blue "Shhhh" after the girl has finally, mercifully closed her eyes. Annalise and her family have pale skin; Espinosa depicts a diverse group of townspeople who will gladly take her naps for her.

Screamingly fun. (Picture book. 3-8)

Kirkus Reviews