Sleepy Bears

by Mem Fox, Kerry Argent (Illustrator)

Winter is here, and in winter, bears sleep. But how do you convince six not-so-sleepy bear cubs to go to bed? Mother Bear, of course, has found a way--with a cozy rhyme for each of them. Once again, beloved author Mem Fox enchants little ones--and their parents--with a tender bedtime story, irresistibly illustrated by Kerry Argent.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Family, Storytime, Fiction, Adventure

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Merrion Frances Fox is an Australian writer of children's books and an educationalist specialising in literacy. Fox has been semi-retired since 1996, but she still gives seminars and lives in Adelaide, South Australia.

Reviews

[summer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my absolute favorite book as a kid. I still have it on my bookshelf in all its ripped-up-pages glory, and periodically reminisce through the wrinkled pages and relive the good times.

[Cassidy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is about a mother bear telling each of her cubs a rhyme specifically for them, to get them to fall asleep. This specific book was one my mom would read to my sister and I almost every single night. She had read it to us so many times, that on a trip when she had forgotten to pack it she was able to recite the entire story by memory alone. My sister and I would always point to our favorite parts and say, "That's me!" about our favorite characters (mine of course being the baby bear with his stuffed elephant).

The story takes place in the bear’s home, but also includes scenes in different locations. As the mama bear tells each cub their own story, the story’s setting changes to show what is in the cub’s mind. One example is for the cub named Winifred, whose story transported them to the jungle, and another is for Bella who performed in a circus. This book is also known for having a rhyming scheme to it. Rhymes help children to not only stay interested in the story, but also help them to learn. Hearing something in a rhyming pattern, makes it easier and more likely to stick in your brain. Each cub in the story also has their own symbol in real life, that connects to their dream selves. One cub is seen holding a bowl of cereal while lying in bed, and his dream was full of food and sweets. Another wears a feathered headband, and in her dream she’s an acrobat. But some symbols in this story go deeper than that. The youngest cub is always seen with a stuffed elephant, one of his siblings tries to pull it away at one point but he takes it back. Elephants are known to symbolize protection,and while every other cub has their own story the baby bear’s rhyme is simply his mother telling him that she has him and will keep him safe while he sleeps. I think the fact the baby’s stuffed animal is an elephant symbolizes the connection and protection he has with his mother. Each of the characters in this story were designed to show kids a character that they could possibly relate to, by making the characters all so different with different likes and interests. Lastly, this book is full of bright colors and active scenes that keep children occupied and interested in the story.

[Livia Cerna · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this sweet bedtime book, Mother bear tells wildly fanciful bedtime stories to each of her cubs until they all fall asleep for the winter. I chose this book as an example pair with informational texts on a common topic. This serves well to supplement lessons on hibernation and how animals get ready for the winter.

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book for bedtime or for imagination topics. I like that it followed a predictable structure--it made it feel more classic. As each of her baby bears dozes off, mama bear helps them imagine their own adventure. The small details in the illustrations are sweeet--like how the bears that fall asleep wear a hat from their imagined adventure, and the one bear cub actively finishing her cereal.

[Angie Fehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very sweet and lovely story told in a lullaby rhythm of a momma bear trying to get
her 6 cubs to bed. She gives them each their own unique rhyme to send them off to
sweet dreams. The illustrations are ADORABLE.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm delighted by every Mem Fox book we read. They are all so different and enjoyable in their own right.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been my favourite book to read to toddlers for 16 years. All of my children have enjoyed it so far.

[Shelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mommy bear gives her cubs lovely rhymes to help them fall asleep for winter.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great read-aloud for a little older child-about 3 on up maybe. I love the rhymes Mother Bear made up for each little bear.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Way too long for very young children but sweet

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Darling story interspersed with poetry and rhyming words. Great for bedtime. Use of imagination, colorful pictures, counting and decent use of vocabulary.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The repetition and lovely drawings make this a sweet bedtime storybook.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before putting each bear cub down for their winter hibernation, the Mama bear tells them each an individual story to create dreams to last the duration.

[Becker Children · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sweet simple story with rhymes; our youngest (2) was really interested in this book and seemed to really connect with it.

[Abby Peskin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book about a mother bear putting her baby bears to “bed” for hibernation. The mother bear sings each bear a special rhyme to put them to sleep.

[Alana · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the bears get their own personal dream to enjoy while they sleep away the winter.

[Katie P · Rating 3 out of 5]

The drawings in this bedtime story are a sweet “wind down” at day’s end.

[Brendon Hamacher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super duper cute and fun to read and have my little act out. Great repetition and visuals.

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first, I was pretty unimpressed with this book, but it got better and I'm glad I kept reading. My son really enjoyed the story, especially all the little bears and their different dreams.
Cute story and cuter illustrations.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story of a family of bears who must get ready for bed. Winter is coming and bears must sleep all winter! Mother bear has to get all of her little bears to sleep. They all have one last snack in then climb into bed to hear their own special story to send them to dream land. Each of Baby bear’s siblings gets their story by Mother Bear and quickly drifts off to sleep. After all the other cubs are dreaming, Mother Bear notices her last little cub is yawning a BIG yawn. Mother Bear scoops up Baby Bear and sings his song:
“Sleep my sweetheart, sleep, my bear,
Your cradle swings in the evening air.
Moonbeams touch your precious face
And stars float by with gentle grace.
Sleep, my sweetheart, have no fear.
Sleep, my darling, I am here.”
All the bears drift off to sleep for winter.

[Adriana Rodriguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book begins by explaining that winter has come so it is time for the bears to sleep, or hibernate. All the bears hop into one big bed, and Momma Bear works her magic! For each child, she kisses them on the forehead, tells a poem specific to that child, and they fall asleep and dream about the poem. As baby bear was the last of the six children, baby bear and Momma bear both fell asleep to the last poem, and they all slept until the spring. I believe that the major theme of this book is that dreams can make sleeping enjoyable. I love this book because even now, when I can't sleep, I close my eyes and think about what I would like to dream about. Then I would eventually fall asleep and dream about it! I would definitely recommend this book as a night time story for younger kiddos to help them fall asleep. It's very cute and the illustrations are great!

[Brittany Koontz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author: Mem Fox

Illustrator: Kerry Argent

Genre: Fiction Picture Book

Year Published: 1999

Reading Level: Ages 4-8; Fluent

Topic and Theme: Bedtime, bears, Winter

Curricular Use: Read Aloud, Individual Reading, Shared Reading

Social: None

Literary Elements: Alliteration

Text and Pictures: Very Well Illustrated and the pictures relate to the text perfect.

Summary: This story is about six bear cubs being sleepy in the winter, but they don't want to go to sleep. Mother Bear has tuck each bear cub in, one by one. To do this, she sings them a little rhyme, and it makes them go right to sleep. This puts them to sleep until the spring.

[Emily Storytime · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this one as a kid, still love it as an adult! What a dreamy book.

--

3/23/23 - "Pajama Storytime"
Since this is a personal favorite, I was delighted to see my storytime group be entranced as well. (This was definitely helped along by the fact that I passed out popcorn to keep their hands and mouths occupied before I started reading, though, haha.) I also included lots of dramatic fake yawns, which the kids got into as well.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun book, all about a family of bears who are getting ready for their long hibernation nap and Mama bear soothes them each to sleep with their own story. It's a nice story, perfect for our girls, but I think I like "Time for Bed" by Mem Fox better than this one.

We've borrowed this a couple of times from the library, and our girls still really enjoy the story.

[Amy Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know how this one would do in our storytime because it's a little longer. It would be really fun for a pajama day or something at the library. It makes me sleepy. I like that each little bear has his or her own special goodnight rhyme. The illustrations are nice, but I don't find them super appealing.

[Wendy Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mother bear is trying to get all of her cubs into bed for the winter. She has her own special rhyme ready for each baby as they get snuggled into bed. This book supports vocabulary, phonological awareness and print motivation skills for children ages 1-4 years old. Although, my sons (13 and 9) still love this one before bed time.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked how mother bear used a different rhyme for each bear to get them to fall asleep. I think students would like to read this book because it would allow them to use their imagination. They can also relate to this book because they have had dreams of their own. Maybe some of the students have had the same dreams the bears had.

[T Akers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a family favorite as soon as I read it to my children the very first time. Both my son and my daughter soon memorized each little rhyme that the mother bear read to each bear cub. My son and my daughter each had their favorite rhyme that I would substitute their name in the place of the bear cub's name. My daughter still has this book on her shelf and she is now 18.

[Samantha Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good bed time book. It is about a momma bear and her cubs hibernating for winter. The mom makes up an imaginary dream for each cub to fall asleep to for the winter. It would be good to read to your child at bedtime because it can give them ideas of what to dream about and not think of scary stuff.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really nice story of a mother bear telling her cubs an individule bedtime story so that they will hibernate. Really calming with a rhyming style. My little brothers love it!