Book Review - Nap Time Fairies

Nap Time Fairies

By: Jenifer Johnson
Publisher: Aztec Printing and Design
Publication Date: November 2014
ISBN: 978-0988359925
Reviewed by: Deb Fowler
Review Date: April 16, 2015

The cat nestled next to the bed, as if he were going to be the nap time guardian over the boy. The boy lifted one foot, poised to jump up into his bed, but wait! Perhaps this time in his dreams the locomotive would come to him. He could just imagine it and could almost envision the smoke stack billowing out those clouds of smoke, the drivers and cranks that would move the train forward, and even the pilot who would push a wayward cow out of the way. Whooo! Whooo!

Yes, perhaps that train would visit him “as he snuggles in blankets so warm and cozy, as he listens to what he loves best.” Whooo! Whooo! A waning crescent moon, Saturn, and the twinkling stars surrounded his bed as the cat kept watch. The train had arrived to visit him as he slept. Whooo! Whooo! Not yet quite asleep, his favorite train began to enter the silent window of his dream world announcing its arrival. The smoke stack billowed out big clouds of smoke as it moved down the track and into his dreams.

The stars are now twinkling quietly. “As he snuggles deeply / he listens once more / for the sounds of the train / that he knows is quite near / Nap time, nap time, nap time.” The train has passed, but perhaps he will hear yet something more. A fairy overlooks his bed, but will he hear the fairies as they begin to dance? The cat continues to keep watch and even his rocking horse awaits the arrival of the fairies. They are waiting, soon to send their “sweet messages of love” when a little boy finally falls fast asleep. What else would the "Nap Time Fairies" have in store for him?

Of course the Nap Time Fairies keep watch over the sleeping boy, much as the cat sitting beside the bed does. Their arrival is symbolic of the author’s wish that they too would keep watch over her own child, Noah. The prose is lyrical and soothing, something to coax a little one into the dream world of nap time. I could almost hear that train arrive and anxiously awaited the Nap Time Fairies to see what they would bring to the little boy. The artwork is stunningly beautiful, meshing perfectly with the soft soothing tale. I was transported back in time to the world of John Tenniel and a time gone by with this wondrous work. This is definitely a book well worth placing on a little boy or girl’s nightstand.

Quill says: This is the perfect nap time tale that will transport any little one into slumber-land with the help of the Nap Time Fairies!

For more information on Nap Time Fairies, please visit the website: www.pocketwatchtales.com