Bear Dreams [Hardcover]

Elisha Cooper (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up

One autumn afternoon a bear cub disobeys his mother and his father and goes outside to play with his friends.

This bear cub, you see, does not want to go to sleep for the winter, or even for one minute. This bear cub has big ideas and big plans and big dreams. Bear dreams.

Ages: 3+

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1–Bear, a cub, cannot sleep. He watches his wakeful woodland friends from the mouth of his cold, dark cave and feels that life has treated him very unfairly. Why do they have fun while he has to hibernate? He gathers the other animals together and tells them that he wants to do all the things that they do, including flying across the lake with the geese. His friends suggest that his plan sounds exhausting, and they leave him alone as he cries out, More! I want to play more! Bear falls asleep as the first snow begins to descend, and his parents carry him back to the warm cave, where he will sleep until spring. Cooper captures the indignation of a youngster who does not want to go to bed, especially when friends are allowed to stay up later. The watercolor-and-pencil illustrations softly portray the transition from fall to winter as well as from wakefulness to slumber. A striking spread, reminiscent of a constellation chart, transports the animals from the solid earth to a snowy nighttime sky, where Bear sleeps, surrounded by his friends. This quiet book with its dreamlike quality is ideal for bedtime sharing.–Shawn Brommer, South Central Library System, Madison, WI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Bear can't sleep--and he certainly can't settle down for the winter. Rather, he finds other animals with whom he can race and wrestle; he even flies across the lake with the geese--and then flies back. Although the other animals want to rest, Bear says he doesn't, but as night falls, sleep finally comes and will last through the spring. Bear is a funny-looking, rather unformed animal, who looks like he has a bit of hippo in him, and his friends are simply shaped as well. That ungainliness aside, Cooper's mottled watercolor artwork is cleverly designed to attract a child's eye; one double-page spread shows Bear butting heads with big ol' Moose, and another has him floating through the sky with the geese. This gets the sequence of the good-night ritual just right: motion, motion, motion, fall asleep. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Greenwillow Books (August 29, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060874287
• ISBN-13: 978-0060874285
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,279,005 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Elisha Cooper is the award-winning author of "Beach," which won the 2006 Society of Illustrators Gold Medal. Other picture books include "A Good Night Walk," "Magic Thinks Big," and "Dance!," a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year. His adult books include the memoir "Crawling: A Father's First Year." Elisha Cooper lives with his family in New York City.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Good bedtime book for toddlers and pre-K., June 8, 2008

By 

Deborah Sandford "Marian the Librarian" (Madison, NJ, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bear Dreams (Hardcover)

Little Bear can't sleep. Bleary-eyed, and sitting in the cave between his sleeping parents, Bear looks longingly outside at the blue sky and watches the other animals playing. It's just not fair!--so, Bear decides to join the animals in their playful activities. When night falls, the other animals get sleepy and leave. Bear falls asleep under the moon, and his mother and father come to carry him back to the cave where they all curl up and sleep until spring. Sparse text against large watercolor and pencil illustrations make this a perfect read for toddlers at storytime, bedtime, as well as for beginning readers.

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy-to-Read Words and Beautiful Watercolor Illustrations, October 9, 2006

By 

FictionAddiction.NET - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bear Dreams (Hardcover)

Why do bears hibernate? Bear doesn't think it's necessary.

He doesn't want to go to sleep for the winter. He just wants to play.

Bear decides play time will be much more fun than sleeping. He gets all of his other furry friends together and shares his big play plan to avoid sleep.

He wants to race the bunnies. He wants to fly with the geese. He wants to climb trees with the woodpeckers.

Bear plays and plays. His friends get tired and must go to sleep. Bear wants to play more but sleep takes hold and it's up to his mom and dad to bring him back inside.

Bear Dreams will remind parents of children who aren't quite ready for bed. While all of the other animals get to play, the little bear cub needs to come inside and go to sleep. He just doesn't want to right away.

Elisha Cooper authored and illustrated Bear Dreams. His easy-to-read words and watercolor illustrations tell a heartwarming story children and parents alike will enjoy together.