A young Dominican American girl is jealous of each child who stays overnight with her family while their adult caregiver works, not only because they get to sleep on the cot in the living room, but because they get her parents’ attention, special privileges (she thinks), and a view of the George Washington Bridge through the window. “It’s not fair,” she thinks when Raquel, then Edgardo, then Lisa comes to stay. The girl imagines each visiting child having a free-for-all in the living room; but the reality is that each child is anxious and homesick, although the girl’s parents provide all the comfort they can. Finally, on a night when there isn’t a guest, the girl gets to sleep on the cot—but the unfamiliar bed isn’t comfortable, and the shadows on the wall are scary, and she welcomes Mami’s middle-of-the-night reassurance. The next time Raquel comes over, the girl realizes how much Raquel must miss her dad after he drops her off. “It’s not fair,” she thinks again, before coming up with an idea to help Raquel and the other kids feel better when they stay. Clean-lined digital illustrations subtly but effectively distinguish between reality and the girl’s imagination, and use background color to reflect shifting feelings throughout this welcome, emotionally honest, child-centered story illuminating an aspect of some working/working class families’ lives rarely seen in picture books while underscoring the power of empathy and compassion, and the importance of community. (Ages 4-7)

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.