Bear Dreams

by Elisha Cooper

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. 3+

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Storytime, Childrens, Friendship, Family, Juvenile

40 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2006

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Argh! How can a little bear possibly go to sleep for an entire winter when there's so much to do?

This would be a nice bedtime book for getting your own little bear down for the night. I enjoyed the soft illustrations by the author.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice book with a good group of woodland characters beyond what is normally featured. The bear's adventures coincide pleasantly with the "twist" ending.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bear doesn't want to sleep, but rather to play with the other animals -- hares, moose, geese (he even flies with the geese in a really cute picture.)Short text, premise that preschoolers can identify with (especially those who resist naps), good for storytime about fall/approaching winter/hibernation. Predictably he is worn out after so much play and the mother and father bear carry him back to the cave to sleep until spring.

[Evianrei · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this little book, as our own little bear doesn't like going to sleep either. This book is about a little bear who thinks it unfair that all the animals get to play while he and his family have to hibernate. So he goes out to play, until the other animals get tired. He ends up tiring and being carried home by his parents. It is sweet. Our little one doesn't like bed time either. The visuals are cute as well. Our 8 month old loved this one. Would like to get a physical copy of the book, as this one was borrowed from the local Library.

[Stefany · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute and short book for my bear storytime. I read it to most of the classes, but the language isn't really natural for storytime (and the bear is a little whiny). However, the drawings are wonderful, and it was fun having the kids guess what different animals are (such as the beaver is a bear, apparently). Lots of fun.

[Brenda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t love this book, which made me sad because I thought it looked so cute. We really enjoy books about animals, so I think I was excited to read it. I read it to my kids, and thought that it was a little simplistic. I think that I was turned off due to the improper English used in it. I did, however, love the illustrations.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baby Bear did not want to go to sleep all winter while his friends played. He had big dreams of what to do instead, so he sneaked out of the cave while his parents slept. He got his friends to play with him until they all got tired and went away to rest. Baby Bear wanted to play but something else happened. Cute story and illustrations.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really nice artwork

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice simple hibernation story, with clear illustrations. Good for a read-aloud with pre-K.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary: A young little bear didn't want to hibernate with his parents, so he went out to find his friends. He wanted to do all kinds of things and never wanting to stop and rest. He raced with his rabbit friends, wrestled with his moose friends, and climbed with the birds. He did so many things that he started to get sleepy. He fell asleep outside of his family's cave and slept until spring.

Major Themes: The major theme of this book is about animal behaviors and listening to your parents.

Personal Connection: I remember when I was younger I would always start playing games and activities right around my bedtime to avoid going to bed. My parents said they would give me a bedtime so that I would be well rested for the days ahead, but I didn't listen to them and I would stay up as late as I could. I remember that by the end of the school week I would be so tired because I stayed up, and eventually I learned that my parents were right to give me a bedtime and that I should go to bed when they tell me to. Like the little bear, I didn't listen to my parents when they had my best interest at heart.

Why I Recommend This Book: I would recommend this book to a young elementary classroom because it has minimal words that are easy to understand and the plot is easy for young students to understand. It is very relatable for young students because they have disobeyed their parents and learned from their mistakes. It is a great book to read to students when talking about maturing and why adults make rules for young people.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sweet book that depicts a little bear who just does not want to settle down for his winter nap. The plot reminds me of other picture books we've read with this theme, such as Little Brown Bear Won't Take a Nap! and Bedtime for Bear.

The narrative here is very simple, as are the watercolor illustrations. We enjoyed reading this story together.

[DelGal · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nice illustrations and cute premise about a bear wanting to know why he has to go to sleep in the winter while other animals get to frolic, but the abrupt end without an explanation ruins this story.

[Ellen · Rating 1 out of 5]

My toddler and I were both bored despite the nice illustrations.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read at preschool story time on 12/5/11: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and sweet. Went over well during storytime. Good read-aloud for preschoolers.

[Jackie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Baby bear is fed up with this sleeping/hibernation stuff. He wants to play! Bear has big dreams!

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bear tells his animals friends what he would rather do rather than "stay in a cold cave, sleeping." Active toddlers and their parents can relate.

[Kristy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! I LOVE all of the different and unique wild animals in the book and I love the message that it sends...sometimes family knows best!

[Carol Mcgloshen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book for children to see that they can dream about things outside of what is considered normal for them to do

[Peacegal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute watercolor illustrations. Obviously a bedtime book meant to encourage kids to go to sleep.

[Esodhiambo · Rating 4 out of 5]

bear
dream
play
hibernate

[Ruth Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect for a fall storytime.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

December 2016 - a short text and really fantastic illustrations. I love Cooper's style. Ben has chosen this one a few times.

[Shala Howell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doesn't hold my 1 year old's attention. Maybe worth trying later, as it's a really cute book.