Bear's Nap

by Emily Gravett

Get ready for bedtime with Bear's Nap, a fantastically funny story about an adorable bear trying to get to sleep, full of animal noises that children will love to join in with. From the reliably brilliant creator of Tidy and Monkey and Me.

All Bear wants is a quiet nap . . . but he can't work out who is keeping him awake with their cheep cheeping. An increasingly frustrated bear leaves his cosy cave to ask the other animals, but they none of them cheep. Maybe the culprit is closer to home?

Everyone will love meeting all the animals, and joining in with their familiar noises, in this very funny, warm, and beautifully illustrated story. Multi-award-winning Emily Gravett is at the height of her powers in this wonderful rhyming tale with a surprise comic ending.

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Childrens

35 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 4, 2025

About the author

Emily Gravett is twice winner of the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal and the Nestlé Children's Book Prize Bronze Award for WOLVES and LITTLE MOUSE'S BIG BOOK OF FEARS. An author/illustrator of unique talent and tremendous skill, she has a host of critically acclaimed books to her name, including BLUE CHAMELEON, WOLF WON'T BITE! and AGAIN! Emily lives in Brighton with her partner and their daughter.

Reviews

[Janet · Rating 4.75 out of 5]

Totally perfect story and illustrations for a story time read with its rhyming text, a number of forest animals making sounds, and a bear who can’t find what is keeping him awake. Even reading this silently one can tell the flow of words is perfect to read aloud. Illustrations are done in colored pencil and watercolors with a little digital fiddle waddling to quote the author/illustrator Emily Gravett.
First published in England I. 2025 and in te USA in 2026. And why did I give it a 4.75 rating instead of five. All of the publishing information is written in extremely small print in the shape of z’s as the bear finally sleeps. Creative idea, absolutely annoying to read. Also the USA edition has a different cover than the one Goodreads is showing.

[Whitney Kellar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful and funny book about a bear trying to go to sleep but who’s kept awake by various animals in the forest. The illustrations are super cute with a blue monochrome background and with the animals done in colour to help them pop from the page. The story itself is the kind of sweet and silly thing that would make young children giggle. I can see this being a fun bedtime read with my own daughter who is almost 4 years old. I think this book would probably do well with kids aged 3-6.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the opportunity to read this book. All opinions are my own.

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bear lays down to take a nap and there are Cheep Cheep Cheep noises and he searches to find the source. He finds all sorts of animal noises before he finds the bird and asks for quiet. I think children would love this book with all the animal sounds it presents and the predicament of the bear just trying to sleep. They will love repeating all the animal noises with the reader. And the ending will be a laugh.

[Amanrit Uppal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a beautiful way to introduce a child to different animals and the sounds associated with them, in a fun way. The rhyming was creative, and the pictures and the story itself had a touch of humor, which I loved!

Loved how the story ends with all the other animals bothered by the bear!

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Jacaranda21 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poor bear! Great book for Early years. Looking forward to reading it at Story time.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a grumpy bear searches for the source of a persistent cheep-cheeping, the forest gets gradually louder with more critters and their own noises. Super cute and silly, a great bedtime book.

[Nightshade · Rating 4 out of 5]

6th Aug 2026 - really fun book for kids with lots of animal noises.

[Rashida · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun bed time story, no notes

[Meghan Bohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully illustrated, and such a fun story!
Although barn owls don't hoot; instead they have unearthly screams. Which don't rhyme very well.

[Terresa Wellborn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Themes: bears, naps, noise
Ages: preK-2nd grade (shorten for littles as needed)
Pub year: 2025

[Syntha Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would be fun to read in storytime with all the animal noises

[Alyssa Mandell · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

A funny book about a bear trying to sleep but an animal keep making sounds and keeping him up. Would make a good read aloud for lower elementary children.