The Cot in the Living Room
by Hilda Eunice Burgos (Author) Gaby D'Alessandro (Illustrator)
A young Dominican American girl in New York City moves from jealousy to empathy as her parents babysit children whose families work overnight shifts in this honest and warm picture book debut.
Night after night, a young girl watches her mami set up a cot in the living room for guests in their Washington Heights apartment, like Raquel (who's boring) and Edgardo (who gets crumbs everywhere). She resents that they get the entire living room with a view of the George Washington Bridge, while all she gets is a tiny bedroom with a view of her sister (who snores). Until one night when no one comes, and it's finally her chance! But as it turns out, sleeping on the cot in the living room isn't all she thought it would be.
With charming text by Hilda Eunice Burgos and whimsical illustrations by Gaby D'Alessandro, The Cot in the Living Room is a celebration of the ways a Dominican American community takes care of one another while showing young readers that sometimes the best way to be a better neighbor is by imagining how it feels to spend a night sleeping on someone else's pillow.
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Publishers Weekly
"I wish I could sleep on the cot in the living room," confides the child narrator of this picture book, who has brown skin and dark curls, "but Mami says it's for guests." First, Raquel sleeps there, while her father works the night shift at a hospital. When Edgardo's mother has a singing gig, he sleeps on the cot, too. And Lisa spends the night while her grandmother cleans offices "until way past bedtime." In each case, the narrator resents sharing the room, and her toys, with the visitors. Artwork by D'Alessandro, making her picture book debut, shows the family and their apartment in clean lines and soft, cotton-candy colors. When at last the narrator gets a night on the cot, things don't work out well. Then she and her sister make an offer to their next child guest that's creative and warmhearted. In this story about a tight-knit urban community by Burgos (Ana María Reyes Does Not Live in a Castle), parents with small children and tough schedules know they can depend on their neighbors for help. The girl's parents show flexibility, patience, and true sweetness when their young guests worry. And the girl's feelings are portrayed realistically as she learns to share her parents, her space--and her friendship. Ages 4-8. Illustrator's agent: Gail Gaynin, Morgan Gaynin. (June)
Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.ALA/Booklist
Kirkus
Review quotes
JUV023000 - Juvenile Fiction | Lifestyles | City & Town Life
JUV011030 - Juvenile Fiction | People & Places | United States - Hispanic & Latino
