Sleep, Big Bear, Sleep

Believe it or not, we’ve actually got a little chill in the air — even here in Phoenix. Which means it is the perfect time to share this adorable storybook with you. Sleep Big Bear Sleep! by Maureen Wright is about a very likeable brown bear who is a little hard of hearing.

Old Man Winter is trying to tell Big Bear it’s time to hibernate, but as the bear hears whispers of “Sleep, Big Bear, sleep!” on the wind he mistakes them for other silly instructions, like “Drive a Jeep,” “Dive Deep” or “Climb a mountain steep.”

My girls love the beautiful illustrations and watching the tired, old bear doing all sorts of silly things.

Finally Old Man Winter gets through to the over-tired Big Bear, who is sitting on a mountain top, almost knee-deep in snow and wishing “for a blanket and a fold-up cot.”

“You could have told me before,” the silly bear says.

I think any mom who has dealt with youngsters stalling at bedtime will relate to Old Man Winter — in fact, I think there has been a time or two when I’ve shouted the words on this page a bit too eagerly, thinking in my mind, “You hear that girls, It’s TIME FOR BED!”

I really love this book. It is the perfect cozy, winter bedtime story.