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.