Customer Reviews

Ira Sleeps Over (Live Oak Readalong)

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ira has a dilemma - he is thrilled to be invited over to Reggie's house for his very first sleep over, but his older sister got him really thinking. At home Ira sleeps with a teddy bear named Tah Tah. He's never slept without him. But what will Reggie think if he knew Ira slept with a teddy bear? What would Reggie say if he learned the bear's name is Tah Tah?

"Suppose Ira doesn't like sleeping without his teddy bear.
Suppose he absolutely hates sleeping without his teddy bear.
Should he take his teddy bear with him? Will Reggie laugh at him?"

Ira Sleeps Over is an outstanding, read-aloud bedtime tale. It is written with a firm grasp of kindergarten logic and will appeal to children and parents alike. Bernard Waber did a wonderful job of properly pacing the dialogue and it really is a delight to read out loud. There are a couple characters, providing an enjoyable opportunity to affect different voices and even different styles for the same character at different times.

The book runs 48 pages, but it is very easy to finish in under ten minutes. My wife and I frequently read it to our two boys. It is a favorite of our 4-year-old and occupies a proud place among the top bedtime books on our shelf.

This book is wonderful. As a second grade teacher, I read it so often to my class that the paper back book pages have fallen out. I'm purchasing the hard back version now.

Great book to read to the family at bedtime. It is definitely on of the best books to read aloud. You are forced to sound like a seven-year-old boy as you read. Addresses the fear of what one's best friend might think when he finds out that you still sleep with a teddy bear.

This story is about a boy named Ira who is going to sleep over his friend's house. Ira is nervous about it because he still sleeps with a teddy bear and he thinks Reggie will make fun of him. Ira finds out that he isn't the only one with a teddy bear. We liked this story because it had a lot of funny parts. You should read this book because the story is fun and the pictures are really good.

just the memories of this book bring tears to my eyes...it was one of my favorites when i was young. it's a great story. loved it.

I love this book! I begged my mom to read it to me over and over again when I was little. Now I am going to be a teacher and I plan on having this book in my classroom at all times! It would be an excellent book to read to a child going on his/her first sleep over. But, actually, I think anyone (child or adult) would enjoy this book.

I absolutely loved this book as a child. I am handing it off to my youngest niece this summer. She's going to kindergarten and just learned to read. Never has a slumber party been so much fun! It also has a great lesson about acceptance, overcoming fear and being yourself. I can't wait for her to read it and fall in love as I did so many years ago.

As a substitute teacher, I read this book to a group of kindergartners. They clapped afterwards. That should tell you a lot about the book. It is my best substitute teaching memory!

Sleeping over at a friend's house for the first time is a major milestone in childhood that is often marked by a little anxiety. In Ira Sleeps Over, Bernard Waber manages to capture that anxiety with a lot of humor and very real family interactions (supportive mom and dad, not so supportive older sister).

The book opens when Ira is invited to his best friend Reggie's house for a sleepover. It's the first time he's slept away from his parents, and he's thrilled. That is until his sister asks him if he will be bringing his teddy bear with him. At first he says no, of course not. Then his sister reminds him that he's never slept without him. That's when the worrying begins. Ira goes back and forth as to whether or not he should bring his teddy bear. Then just when he decides he should, his sister asks him if he's going to let Reggie know that his teddy bear's name is Tah Tah. That does it. No way will he bring his teddy bear to Reggie's house.

So off he goes to Reggie's for his first sleepover. The boys have a great time in the beginning, complete with wrestling matches and pillow fights. Finally, it's bedtime, and as they are lying down in the dark, Reggie starts to tell a ghost story. Just as it begins to get scary, Reggie stops the story in mid sentence, walks over to his dresser and pulls out...his teddy bear. Ira prods him about the bear and finds out that the bear's name is Foo Foo. With that, he gets out of bed and tells Reggie he has to get something (they live next door to each other), and goes to retrieve his beloved Tah Tah.

Kids will identify with Ira and his confusing array of emotions. They will understand his desire to show his sister he doesn't need his teddy bear, while at the same time understand that he still needs to have his teddy bear when he goes to sleep.

Bernard Waber has managed to capture each and every character's voice perfectly, which makes for a fun read aloud. It's actually hard NOT to sound like an unsure seven-year-old kid or his somewhat bratty older sister. Waber's ear for spoken language is that good.

Being a parent of two I know how important it is to find books that help your children feel more secure about who they are through during every passage of their childhood, and the first "sleepover" is no exception.
This simply illustrated book tells the story of a boy named "Ira" who is about to have a sleepover at this best friend Reggie's house and he's so excited till his sister reminds him that he's never slept without his teddy bear before and maybe Reggie will think he's a big baby if he brings his beloved bear along. So Ira goes back and forth debating all day whether he should or shouldn't take his bear. His parents say "take him" and Ira surely wants to especially after Reggie reminds Ira that they can end the night telling ghost stories in the dark of his room (which only makes Ira think of his teddy more). So finally he decides to take the bear then his sister reminds him "what a silly baby name" his bear has, now his sister really has Ira back again at not taking his teddy. It's so cute and so realistic the relationship and retort between the brother and sister and the anxieties we all feel about being big and brave and accepted at such a tender age!
The story goes to show we all have a "Ta-ta" near and dear to our hearts!