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Check It Out: From summer to autumn, naps to books

By Jan Johnston
Published: October 2, 2016, 6:00am
2 Photos
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Fall really must be here because my summer brain has switched to autumn brain. A warmer quilt for the bed, soup recipes at the ready, miniature pumpkins in the window — yep, I have officially bid “adieu” to sandals, beach reads and long evenings sitting on the patio. I’ve said this before, and I’ll happily say it again: Fall is my favorite season here in the Pacific Northwest. Mother Nature really knows how to make a grand exit in this part of the world, donning her brightest colors and most brilliant hues before slipping into the muted tones of winter.

I know I should be raking leaves and tidying up my bark beds before the yard succumbs to a long winter’s slumber, but instead, I am thinking only of books and naps. Well, maybe a few pumpkin spice lattes and several weekends spent re-watching all of the Harry Potter movies take up some thinking space as well, but for the most part, reading and sleeping rank pretty high on my “let’s celebrate autumn” list. (I’m sure my husband would ask, “How is this different from the rest of the year?” — but that’s a separate story.)

Because reading and napping are my go-to “fall” activities, imagine my glee when I came across two recently published picture books about — yes, you guessed it — reading and napping! And as if this wasn’t heel-clicking enough, both “Cat Nap,” by Toni Yuly, and “Make Way for Readers,” by Judy Sierra, feature adorable animals as the main characters. How squee-licious!

Would it surprise you to learn that “Cat Nap” is about a cat who really, really wants to take a nap? I love uncomplicated titles. If you and your little ones like cats, you probably know just how important sleeping is to our feline friends. Well, in Toni Yuly’s story, a cat, who is sleepy, lives with a kitten who is curious. How hard is it for Cat to take a much needed nap? Nearly impossible with Kitten around. No matter where Cat goes — high or low, in a box or under the bed — Kitten is sure to follow. And just when it looks like Cat will finally get the respite he craves, Kitten wins again! Let’s hope these two pussycats can work out a more satisfactory sleep-and-play routine.

Moving from naps to books, “Make Way for Readers” tells a mighty fine yarn about “merry Miss Bingo … the singing flamingo” and her super-duper storytime for young readers. Owls, alligators, foxes and mice, all new readers — regardless of fur, feather or scales — are welcome at Miss Bingo’s storytime hour. Reading from a Mother Goose storybook, “she tells them of kittens, and mittens, and mice, Miss Muffet, her tuffet, and sugar, and spice.” And the fun really gets going when she tells her rapt listeners to “Waggle your tails! Show me your claws! Flap with your wings! Clap with your paws!”

Whether you’re into reading or napping — or even waggling or wiggling — these two picture books are sure to charm the socks off of young and old alike. If you check them out at the same time, you may want to start with the story of Miss Bingo and her lively storytimes. A nap might be in order after all that wiggling, and even though Cat in “Cat Nap” struggles to reach nap nirvana, his efforts to find a quiet, restful spot may provide just the right amount of calming influence on wiggly readers.

Welcome to autumn!

Jan Johnston is the collection development coordinator for the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District. Email her at readingforfun@fvrl.org.

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