Small Nap, Little Dream

by Talia Aikens-Nuñez, Natalia Colombo (Illustrator)

Overview

This playful story celebrates the joy of a refreshing nap—while introducing some simple Spanish vocabulary.

Young children are busy all day long—running and climbing, looking and laughing—and in the middle of a full day of fun, there's nothing like taking a break for a small nap. This is the time of day to have a little dream—sueñito—that gives the afternoon some added sweetness.

Look at me RUN. Mis pies go fast!
Look at me READ. Mis ojos explore!

Kids will soon be chiming in with the Spanish words for their body parts, as they wind down and get ready for that refreshing nap. And they will love poring through the pages of toddlers at play in an imaginary multicolored world that is full of happiness, setting the stage for their dreams.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780525517825
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	06/15/2021
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	1,110,234
Product dimensions:	8.38(w) x 10.30(h) x 0.30(d)
Lexile:	AD200L (what's this?)
Age Range:	1 - 3 Years

About the Author

Talia Aikens-Nuñez (kidslitbytalia.com) also wrote the picture books Colors of the Sun and Moon: Colores del Sol y de La Luna and Escucha Means Listen. Raising a bilingual child inspired her to write multicultural children's books. Talia's family loves nature so much that she and her husband vowed that they will always try to live close to water. She and her family live in Connecticut with a little pond.

Natalia Colombo (nataliacolombo.com.ar) is an illustrator and graphic designer living in Buenos Aires. She studied graphic design at the Universidad De Buenos Aires and has illustrated picture books published in Spain, France, Portugal, Italy, Mexico, Korea, Brazil, Chile, the US, and Argentina. Her book Cerca was awarded the first International Compostela Prize by the Department of Education of the City Council of Santiago and KALANDRAKA. The Italian version of the same book, Vicini, received the Delle Palme Prize for Best Foreign Picture Book.

Editorial Reviews

Four youngsters romp and frolic in the woods with their forest friends. . . . The entire day is filled with an energetic exploration of the fanciful world around them. Running with squirrels and dancing with rabbits has never been so much fun. After reading a few good books, it’s time for a nap. With the welcome respite comes little dreams—sueñitos. Rainbows, smiling stars, and friendly clouds surround the happily dreaming children. Wakefulness brings a joyful resumption of their carefree play in anticipation of more sweet dreams. Aikens-Nuñez’s declarative four-word ‘me’ statements call attention to each specific action of the characters: ‘Look at me RUN.’ Spanish vocabulary, signaled with boldface, is immediately introduced in paired mixed-language sentences: ‘Mis pies go fast.’ . . . Colombo’s whimsical illustrations feature a diverse crew of children in snuggly attire.”—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

07/01/2021

PreS—"Look at me RUN./ Mis pies go fast!/Look at me JUMP. / Mis piernas are strong." So begins a simple introduction to the Spanish words for body parts. A multicultural group of four children cavort among trees and flowers with an assortment of animal friends, working up the need for a small nap and a little dream before they jump back into play. Sweet illustrations in colored pencil and acrylic are rendered in perky primary colors on a white background. Complete with a Spanish/English glossary and pronunciation guide, this begins with promise but falters with naptime, because, despite the title, the story is mostly a celebration of activity and the human body. While this could be used for a guessing game to introduce Spanish, it should be noted that the word brazos has been overlooked in the glossary. VERDICT Attractive and of some use for bilingual programs, the book comes to an abrupt end without a clear focus.—Jan Aldrich Solow, formerly Fairfax County Public Sch., VA

School Library Journal

2021-04-14
Four youngsters romp and frolic in the woods with their forest friends.

They jump and climb; they clap and laugh. The entire day is filled with an energetic exploration of the fanciful world around them. Running with squirrels and dancing with rabbits has never been so much fun. After reading a few good books, it’s time for a nap. With the welcome respite come little dreams—sueñitos. Rainbows, smiling stars, and friendly clouds surround the happily dreaming children. Wakefulness brings a joyful resumption of their carefree play in anticipation of more sweet dreams. Aikens-Nuñez’s declarative four-word “me” statements call attention to each specific action of the characters: “Look at me RUN.” Spanish vocabulary, signaled with boldface, is immediately introduced in paired mixed-language sentences: “Mis pies go fast.” The pattern is not consistently maintained, however, and language transitions can be awkward: “Look, I’m AWAKE! / Mi cuerpo rested!” The glossary preceding the story includes Anglicized phonetic pronunciations of the Spanish words used. These unfortunately render some vowel combinations phonologically as hiatuses when instead they should be diphthongs: “Pee-EHR-nahs” instead of “pyehr-nahs” (legs), and “see-EHS-tah” instead of “syehs-tah” (nap). Colombo’s whimsical illustrations feature a diverse crew of children (two White-presenting, one Black-presenting, and one with olive skin and long, black braids) in snuggly attire for a cool fall day, but the foliage does not indicate autumn. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A slight, uneven, well-intentioned contribution. (Picture book. 2-4)

Kirkus Reviews