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Burgos, Hilda Eunice

The Cot in the Living Room

40 pp. | Penguin/Kokila | June, 2021 | Trade ISBN 978-0-593-11047-8 $17.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-0-593-11048-5 $10.99
(2) K-3 Illustrated by Gaby D'Alessandro. Our young narrator, who shares a bedroom with a snoring older sister, is jealous of the guests who get to sleep on the cot in her family's living room overlooking the George Washington Bridge. "It would be so much fun to have the whole living room to myself! I'd stay up late and play, look at the tiny cars outside, maybe watch TV and sneak into the kitchen for an extra cookie or a little dulce de leche." Instead, a girl named Raquel ("Boring. She never plays with me") gets the cot while her father works the hospital night shift; on another night, Edgardo gets it while his mom, a singer, performs until 3 a.m.; and little Lisa has a turn while her grandmother cleans offices. "It's not fair" is the protagonist's refrain, with added resentment about having to share her ­parents' attention. After her own longed-for night on the cot proves less than thrilling, and even a little bit scary, she gains empathy for the guests and reacts with kindness. "It's Wednesday and Raquel's dad is working the night shift again, so she has to sleep on the cot in the living room. All by herself. She must really miss him. It's not fair." She invites the girl into her shared bedroom, cot and all. And though the space is tight, "the cot fits perfectly. And so does Raquel." D'Alessandro's pastel-hued digital illustrations feature soothing patterns and motifs, some of them compiled on endpapers resembling a quilt. Burgos's story is effective in its specificity to one child's experiences--and in the highly relatable emotions and reactions common to many young kids.
Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2021

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