Two small girls have an argument about which was the best of all the cozy places they have built together. Was it under the card table with a blanket thrown over the top? Behind the couch in a nest of pillows? In the snow house filled with pine needles. After bickering back and forth over special constructions, they each go their separate ways to build their own cozy place, only to discover it's the company of a friend that makes a place feel truly cozy.

"Confusions about love can begin with first friendship. Hope Slaughter's A Cozy Place is more than a warm snuggly book, for the secure settings become the backdrop for a story of early friendship. Roberta is the young protagonist's best friend. They have built forts of every type imaginable and have filled these child havens with drawing, reading, food, and fun. The girls argue over the best cozy place, part company, and our heroine finds that no place feels truly cozy.

"When Roberta reappears with goodies for an all-new fort, both girls discover that it's friendship, not location, that brings them happiness. Illustrator Susan Torrence is masterful at setting the environment. Her pictures, filled with details that make for warmth, will charm you back to your secret places and help you initiate this fun in your child's life. Torrence brings the relationship of the girls alive as well. With soft watercolors and recognizable images, she captures a special time of childhood where one felt deeply the magic of cozy and the uneasiness when it was missing." (Book Page)

The Author: Hope Slaughter Bryant grew up in the Black Hills of South Dakota. She moved to California after graduating from college in St. Paul, Minnesota. She lives by the ocean in Santa Barbara with her husband and their two sons. She has been published in children's magazines and has written the books The Deeeeelicious Dragon, Buckley and Wilberta, Buckley and Wilberta: Forever Friends, and Plato's Fine Feathers.

The Illustrator: The cover painting and interior illustrations are by Susan Torrence. ""Appealing watercolor paintings show the girls in their multitude of cozy places engaged in different sorts of imaginary play." (Booklist)

A Cozy Place is available direct from us (send us an e-mail for info) and from Amazon.com.

Recommended ages: 3-5

Dimensions: 8.25" wide x 10.25" tall, 30 pages, hardcover

Price: $15.95

First published: 1990

ISBN: 0931093139

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