Cat Nap

by Toni Yuly

Cat loves to nap. If only he could find a good resting place to hide from playful (and wide awake) Kitten!

Opposites and hide-and-seek make this a fun story for nap time -- or anytime.

Genres: Picture Books, Cats, Storytime, Animals, Childrens, Fiction, Humor

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 26, 2016

About the author

Toni Yuly is the author-illustrator of the picture books Early Bird, Night Owl, and Cat Nap. After many years as a librarian, she now dedicates herself to designing, painting, and writing all day. Toni Yuly lives in Bremerton, Washington.

Reviews

[Dani ❤️ Perspective of a Writer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Check out more Picture book reviews @ Perspective of a Writer...

Cat wants to take a nap but kitten won't let her and hunts her down where ever she finds to hide.

This is way below my nephew's reading level. (He has a kind of aphasia so ALL words are a struggle but for the most part these are beginner words that he knows.) We picked it because of the basic drawings and the color block nature of the art. The art was absolutely incredible, simple and yet compelling at the same time and made reading the book great fun. We giggled together as kitten sought out cat and pounced on her at every turn. The words weren't stretching him but he picked the hardest spread in the book to draw! Each spread was so much fun from the fishbowl to the garden to the basement. I think for young readers, particularly animal lovers this would be come a go to book for them to learn basic words and pour over the incredibly bright and attractive drawings.

At the end my nephew was quite touched by the cats snuggling up together. It reminded him of his mom and how much he loves her. The message in this book is not straightforward at all but goes right to your heart!

BOTTOM LINE: A lovely beginner reader for budding artists and cat lovers.

______________________
You can find this review and many others on my book blog @ Perspective of a Writer. See my picture book reviews in a special feature called Boo's Picture Gallery...

[Chinook · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never identified so strongly with a character in a board book before.

Maddie also likes it.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cat is so tired—and all he wants to do is take a nap. But with mischievous kitten around, a nap seems to be impossible! Adding to cat’s troubles is a little mouse who creeps around to watch the activities!

Toni Yuly’s depiction of the cats is spot on! This delightful book has colorful illustrations which add to the story’s appeal. This is a wonderful book to read aloud with young children.

Cat Nap has also been nominated for the Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy Bell Award!

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This color-drenched picture book illustrates perfectly the difference between a older, more reserved cat and a fun-seeking kitten. While Cat is looking forward to following his routine, filled with plenty of napes, Kitten has other ideas. Cat has the great idea to play a hiding game--yeah, right!--but each time Kitten manages to locate his hiding spot. Tired of that game, Cat heads off for a well-deserved nap, only to find that Kitten is in his preferred napping place. Anyone who has spent much time with felines will recognize his/her own cat's behavior in these two. It's always amazing how quickly those frisky kittens can fall asleep as well as the odd places they decide to nap. This is an adorable read aloud with plenty of interesting visuals and text to hold the attention of young readers as they practice their reading skills and long for a cat of their own.

This one is just as delightful, if somewhat predictable, as the larger format version. I'm a sucker for any book with an older and a younger cat, of course, and this one is so very true to life.

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story, and I loved the illustrations. How adorable is this??

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

First sentence: The clock says noon. It's time to rest. Cat is sleepy. He wants to nap. Kitten is curious. She wants to play...

Premise/plot: Will Cat ever get to take a nap?! Kitten suggests playing hide and seek. Cat is hoping that he'll sneak in a nap while Kitten seeks him. But. Kitten is good at the game. And Cat, well, Cat just can't trick Kitten. Can Kitten trick Cat?!

My thoughts: I enjoyed this one. Cat and Kitten aren't the only ones playing hide and seek. Can you spot who else is playing?! (Hint: it's SMALL). I thought the book was cute.

Text: 4 out of 5
Illustrations: 4 out of 5
Total: 8 out of 10

[Roben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kitten wants to play and play and play! Cat just wants to sleep. Yuly captures the exuberant energy of the kitten perfectly and reinforces the concept of opposites in a fun way. Be sure to look for the little mouse that keeps reappearing on almost every page.

[K8 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book pretty much sums up Plum and Sophie's relationship.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Happy book that might help toddlers understand that they should sometimes leave pets alone! Liked the little mouse that we can look for on most pages. Big, bold illustrations

[Melle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zelda and Minne if the color and sizes were reverse. Big cat doesn't want anything to do with the persistent and playful kitten. Would be a great read for reluctant older siblings with annoying younger siblings, probably. Super cute.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cat wants to nap, kitten wants to play.

[Casandria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book about a sleepy cat and a curious kitten.

[Kristan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quinn's 25th book.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute book for preschoolers, with a surprise ending.

[Cloud · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baby LOVED this book so much. It was a pre-name/bedtime book. For two weeks. We have now named the cats. The kitten is Gertrude or Gertie for short. And the Cat is Duke. The mouse was named Minuiette and I don't think we ever named the fist. What's really funny is that the first time we read this book, we must have skipped over the first few pages since it jumped right to playing Hide and Seek. And we just rolled with it. It's a kid's book, sometimes you don't get a lot of plot build-up.

Overall I'm happy and enjoyed this book. The art style really spoke to my baby and the cats had really great expressions that conveyed their feelings very clearly. I'm pleased that the author is located in the PNW and we'll try to find their other books.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yuly, Toni. Cat Nap, BOARD BOOK. Feiwel and Friends, 2016. $7.99.

Big Cat is so tired. It’s nap time and little Kitten wants to play. Anywhere Cat goes, Kitten finds him. When Cat finally escapes to slink off and get some rest… Kitten is sleeping in his bed!

Simple, cute pictures will make young readers interested in these cats who can’t get away from each other. They’ll also find the antics of Kitten amusing.

PRE-K- ADVISABLE. Reviewed by Shay, School Librarian
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2017...

[Barb Middleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cat wants a nap but kitten wants to play hide-and-seek. Cat always gets caught. The KA and Kindergarteners love this book. The bold colors and mouse that is hidden on most pages kept them guessing and engaged. They were more interested in the mouse than the cat. One boy thought that mouse was helping kitten.

[Amanda Geske · Rating 5 out of 5]

Passed to me by a certain in-the-know librarian, I am so happy I read this. Big cat is trying to take a nap, but pesky kitten has too much energy and wants to play. They tumble through beautiful illustrations that could second as an Ikea catalogue.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty into cats right now, so this one is a hit. A bit more complex than Early Bird and Night Owl, but still simple enough for a young toddler to follow along. Bonus points for mouse hiding on most pages, which gives us something else to look for/talk about as we read.

[Darinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cat just wants a nap, but kitten wants to play. A cute story about a playful kitten and a tired cat. A simple, colorful book that my toddler enjoyed.

[Donna Mork · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kitten plays hide and seek with a cat who just wants a nap but can't seem to get away from kitten.

[Bella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute little book. Suitable for probably pre-K and K. Opposites and hide-and-seek (young readers to seek hiding Cat and Kitten).

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute board book. We all know kittens play and cats nap. Well cat agrees to play hide and seek with kitten and hopes to really hide where kitten can find him.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the bold illustrations, and the story of a kitten wanting to play with the older cat is a story that children can easily follow.

[Vivian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sheer genius graphic art. Minimal text. So many ways to explore the pages. My grandchildren (ages 2 and 4) enjoyed this again and again.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfectly captures the relationship between an inexhaustible little one and a tired caregiver. (I bet many parents can relate.)

[Asho · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a great book! I picked it out for L because she's always happy with cat or dog books. This one was especially cute. I love the illustrations. They are simple but very creative and colorful and bold. Even F (4 months old) seemed intrigued by the pictures. The text is simple but nothing more was needed to tell this humorous story. L got a kick out of the Kitten annoying Cat as he tried to sleep. She loves playing hide-and-seek right now (and announcing her hiding place) so she liked that the characters in this book were playing her favorite game. She also liked looking for the mouse on each page. My only complaint (but not enough to dock a star) is that "Cat" and "Kitten" was a bit confusing to my daughter because she uses both terms interchangeably. That didn't detract from our enjoyment of this very adorable story, though. We read this two nights in a row!

[Mike Fehrenbacher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cat Nap is a masterpiece. There is not a single wasted word or gratuitous illustration. The story draws on a universal theme--cats want to nap, kittens want to play--and sublimely depicts the frustration and joy brought about by this unresolvable tension. I have read Cat Nap hundreds of times and yet the book does not age, my laughter has yet to abate at the sight of the cat's eyes as he is caught hiding in a bag when kitten turns on the basement light. Another virtue is that the book is blessedly short, can be enjoyed in a few minutes' time, and to the extent that the book has any kind of lesson, it's a salient one about how young people are annoying and sometimes you just want to sleep.

[Kate M. Colby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack borrowed this book from the Ashland public library. He loves cats because we have two cats so he laughed and smiled when he saw this book.

The story is pretty cute. The big cat wants to take a nap, but the little cat wants to play so, the big cat tries to hide a nap during hide and seek, but the kitten keeps finding them.

Jack kept smiling and reaching toward the cats to pet them, which was sweet. I liked the book too.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple board book with colorful, bold illustrations. I would recommend this book that focuses on opposites for the PK-K level children. This could be a book used to illustrate opposites in a parent/child or teacher/student setting. The visuals of opposites are very bold. It is a wonderful book for the youngest readers.