Twenty Yawns: 07/24/16

Twenty Yawns by Jane Smiley is the about the long unwinding after an exciting day out. Lucy and her parents have been to the beach. They had a fun time and at the end of the day it's time to go home.

Lucy's parents, worn out from a full day of play in the salt sea air, fall asleep easily. Lucy, on the other hand, young and still at that age where everything is amazing, can't get to sleep.

The back half of the book, then, and the portion with most of the titular yawns, is about Lucy's night time adventures in the house as she struggles to get to sleep. Although the setting is different, I could immediately relate to Lucy's problem.

When I was about her age my parents took me to Idyllwild, one of the mountain communities within an easy drive from San Diego. After a full day of playing in the snow, exploring the Strawberry Creek, being allowed to drink hot chocolate with whip cream on top, etc., I could not get to sleep even after my parents were sound asleep. I could see the day's events playing before my eyes like a hologram. If I had been home, rather than in a rented a-frame cabin, I would have done as Lucy does, and gathered up all my favorite toys to bring back to bed.

Though not mentioned as a plot point in the text, the illustrations show Lucy as biracial.

Five stars

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