A Child Imagines! Review of "When Nana Says..."

When I read When Nana Says.... by Shannon Moore Fitzgerald, I immediately traveled back in time to when my own children  were little.  Ben, my son, surrounded himself with his toy cars in his bed, driving them on his pillow, naming them, and ultimately sleeping with them.  My twin daughters possessed myriad beanie babies, stuffed animals, and other assorted items which covered their beds.  Sometimes it was hard to find a spot for the child to lay due to the treasured toys.  With all three children, after learning to read, this assortment of animals and cars was ultimately replaced by books piled around the beds---a great imagination in a young child stimulates a love for reading.

The author describes her book on her website (Bold Moves Studio) this way: "Leah Jane is a little girl with a big imagination, who is not quite ready for naptime. When Nana Says… brings readers along on Leah Jane’s adventure that lands her tucked in her comfy bed. Share this story with your preschooler and naptime might just become a lot more fun. When Nana Says… is the first book in the series Another Leah Jane Story, stories inspired by the real Leah Jane, a young girl, with a big imagination, a creative spirit, and a heart full of love."


Although firm with the naptime rule, Nana allowed Leah Jane to embrace her imagination from pretending to be a baby tiger, to a polka-dotted puppy. The artwork is a perfect match to the text  Each page is a treasure--collages of fabric art, embroidery, and applique.  Ultimately, Leah Jane would settle down for her naps, clearly helped along by her love for all things pretend.  

Any child who loves imaginary play will love this book, and will love comparing what he or she likes to Leah Jane's preferences.    Pretend play is the foundation for language and literacy development, and When Nana Says... embraces this fact.

If you are interested in purchasing this, you can purchase here on Amazon.
or check it out on the author's website.

Imagination fosters reading

The author provided me with this book free to review. Other than that, I have no financial gain from the sales.  These thoughts are my own.