Issue #0

Can't You Sleep, Little Bear?

Plot

Move over, Goodnight Moon . Margaret Wise Brown's enduring bedtime classic may have found a worthy successor in this collaboration by Waddell and Firth ( The Park in the Dark ; We Love Them ). Their gentle story is, in fact, highly reminiscent of Brown at her snug and cozy best. Set in a forest in winter, the tale features a winning bear duo--a great tender-hearted fellow named Big Bear and an exuberant toddler named Little Bear. After a busy day playing in the snow, the two retire to the Bear Cave, where Little Bear is bundled off to his bed in a shadowy corner while Big Bear settles down to read by the fireside. When Little Bear can't sleep--"I don't like the dark"--Big Bear fetches a tiny lantern and returns to his chair. This exchange is repeated several times, with Big Bear patiently bringing ever-larger lanterns, until finally the little chap points at the dark outside. The two venture forth to look at the night ("I've brought you the moon, Little Bear," said Big Bear. "The bright yellow moon and all the twinkly stars"), and the cub falls asleep in Big Bear's arms. Waddell's tranquil tale is perfectly attuned to a child's need for security and bedtime ritual; combined with Firth's serene watercolors, it's a triumph of genuine affection. Young readers will delight in the text's repetition and revel in the illustrations' warm details--as Big Bear reads in the aptly named Bear Chair (complete with claws and paws), for example, Little Bear can be glimpsed frolicking on his bed. These memorable bruins--worthy companions of Pooh and Paddington--inhabit a sweet, reassuring world that children (and adults) will want to enter again and again. Ages 3-up.