[BOOK REVIEW] The Full Moon at the Napping House by Audrey Wood

Title:  The Full Moon at the Napping House

Author:  Audrey Wood

Artist:  Don Wood

Genre:  Bedtime / Humor / Family / Sequel

Year Published: 2015

Year Read:  2017

Publisher:   Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Series: The Napping House #2

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 4+ (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

Did you know that it has been over thirty years since “The Napping House” by Audrey Wood along with artwork by Don Wood had been published?  Well, did you know that Audrey Wood and Don Wood made a companion book to the “Napping House” called “The Full Moon at the Napping House” in 2015?  Well, I did not know this either until I just recently picked up the book and I must say that it certainly lives up to the original book’s expectations!

The story starts off with the full moon coming over the Napping House and its residents (a grandmother, a young boy, a dog, a cat and a mouse) are trying to go to sleep.  But, the family has become restless during the night and it seems like they will never go to sleep until an unlikely visitor comes by the house…

Wow!  I never would have thought that the day would come when I would see a companion book to Audrey Wood and Don Wood’s classic children’s book “The Napping House!”  “The Napping House” has always been one of my most favorite reads during my childhood, especially during bedtime.  So, imagine my surprise and delight when I found out that a companion book was being made for one of my most favorite childhood reads and I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised by this companion book!  I like the fact that Audrey Wood managed to keep the narrative of this story faithful to the narrative of the original book, while telling a different story in this companion book (such as the fact that in this story, the residents of the Napping House are actually having trouble falling asleep while in the original book, it focuses on them sleeping through the night).  It seems like a reverse storytelling method of the original book and I found that approach to this companion book to be extremely creative as I am still reading the narrative of the original book, but from a different perspective.  Don Wood’s artwork is as beautiful as ever before as the characters look exactly as they did in the original “The Napping House” book.  I really enjoyed the humorous images of the boy, the dog and the cat playing around during the night while the grandmother is trying so hard to go to sleep as I found myself giggling at this display.  I also enjoyed the more beautiful aspect of the artwork as we see the full moon shining through the house and making everything in the house glow in such beauty.

Overall, “The Full Moon at the Napping House” is a fantastic follow up to “The Napping House” that fans of the original book will certainly fall in love with!  I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.