Naptime with Theo & Beau

Reviewed by: Shannon Schinagl - Maine State Library, Augusta, Central Maine Library District

Review Date: August 11, 2015

Review

"Naptime with Theo & Beau" is simply a joyous book. Beau is a toddler, and Theo is an adopted dog. In this story, photographs of Beau and Theo napping accompany short sentences. Almost all of the photographs are double spreads, and the text has been written to highlight the photos, rather than the other way around. An example: "Sleeping on our backs." is accompanied by a photo of the two sleeping on their backs.

Though I can't know for sure, I suspect the photos are not posed. The puppy and Beau seem to be genuinely asleep, and Beau is wearing different clothes every time.

Do not miss the end papers! Both front and back are photo collages of Beau and Theo sleeping. In addition, if you remove the dust jacket, the inside is a poster of the two sound asleep!

The author (mother) includes a note in the back of the book explaining how the family chose Theo at the animal shelter.

This book will appeal to appeal to children ages 1-5 years and their families. In addition, the photographs are so large, and the text so simple, that it is definitely a winner for toddler and/or preschool story times. Because it's non-fiction, it's one of the hard-to-find story time books that can support the Common Core.

Whether you love dogs, toddlers, naptime, or just cute books, "Naptime for Theo & Beau" is for you.

Overall Book Score: very good