Review - A Bedtime for Bear

A Bedtime for Bear (Bear and Mouse)
by Bonny Becker
illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton
Date: 2010
Publisher: Candlewick
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 48
Format: e-book
Source: library

Bear must have absolute quiet when he goes to bed. He likes to set out his glass of water, adjust his nightcap, fluff his favorite pillow, and then drift peacefully to sleep. But the effervescent Mouse, small and gray and bright-eyed, finds it terribly hard to be as quiet as a... well, you know. With masterfully paced slapstick humor, droll repartee, and comic visual details, the curmudgeonly Bear and his irrepressible friend Mouse return in a third wry adventure that will have readers of all ages laughing in recognition.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

A Bedtime for Bear is more about friendship than the synopsis would lead one to believe. You might think that this is a story about Mouse being annoying and preventing Bear from going to sleep, and it is... at first. But then, when Bear hears a noise, we see how good of a friend Mouse really is; he checks under the bed and behind the curtains and in the closet, and when Bear suggests that Mouse might benefit from a story to calm his nerves, Mouse readily agrees (even though the reader can clearly see that all of this reassurance is for Bear's benefit). It's a really sweet story.

The illustrations are pretty cute, with great expressions on the characters' faces. My only complaint is that the writing is a bit clunky in places. Other than that, though, this is a great bedtime picture book.

Quotable moment:

Premise: 4/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall: 3.83 out of 5