Bedtime for Bear

by Brett Helquist

Wintertime is here, and that means it is bedtime for Bear. But Bear's friends don't think so. They want Bear to come and play outside in the snow. Bear can hear his friends calling. He hears them laughing and playing. Bear can't sleep. But it's bedtime! What is a bear to do?

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Storytime, Animals, Fiction, Friendship

32 pages, Hardcover

First published December 21, 2010

About the author

Brett Helquist has illustrated many books for children, including the Series of Unfortunate Events books. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bear finds it difficult to get to sleep in this engaging picture-book from author/artist Brett Helquist, who also illustrated Lemony Snicket's popular A Series of Unfortunate Events. With winter having arrived, it is time to hibernate, but his raccoon friends want him to come out and play instead, and the sounds of their happy play prevents him from falling asleep. Finally goaded beyond endurance, he emerges from his house in a terrible temper, only to be inveigled into a wonderful day of fun in the snow...

The second picture-book I have read that was both written and illustrated by Helquist, following upon his Grumpy Goat , Bedtime for Bear pairs a fun, engaging story with appealing artwork. The exuberance of Bear and his two little raccoon friends, and the fun of their games is ably captured in the visuals here, as is the affection amongst them. Helquist's depiction of their faces is quite well done, and their expressions are often quite droll. The indoor scenes, which show Bear in his bed, are cozy and cute. All in all, a sweet little bedtime book, particularly well-suited to winter-time.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bear is in his PJ's and is ready for his long winter nap. As he climbs into bed, his friends the mischievous raccoons have a completely different plan. They finally entice Bear to leave his comfy bed and go out for some fun. They play so hard they are all ready for a nap. Brett Helquist is a fantastic illustrator and has done an amazing job of bringing this story to life. I really enjoyed how he has pulled his graphic novel style to create this fun story.

[Sarah W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brett Helquist also illustrated A Series of Unfortunate Events . In this picture book, Bear's raccoon friends run over after the first snowfall. They beg and plead, but Bear says it's bedtime for bears. When Bear tries desperately to sleep, the raccoons' noise as they frolic in the snow keeps him up.

Comic-like word bubbles and well portrayed emotions make this book a visual delight.

[Dianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read my four-year-old a lot of books, and this is a rare one that completely captivated him. It had just the right amounts of funny and sleepiness for a bedtime story.

[Aneesa]

I guess I didn't really need this many books about hibernation.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so inviting from the cover to the last page. I think the colors and the cuddly bear trying to head to hibernation set the tone. Bear has a great many friends and they all want him to join them in playing in the first snowfall of the season. But Bear wants to sleep. The sounds of his friends playing outside are loud and now they are throwing snowballs at his windows. So Bear opens the door to tell them to knock it off and he receives a snowball in the face. Upset, he tries to chase his friends off, BUT he trips and PLOP! goes slip sliding down the hill in the snow. He is now very awake and decides that THAT WAS REALLY FUN. So he spends the day in the snow - sliding, snowball fighting and building a snowman. As night falls, he returns to bed to dream of a day well spent with his friends.
I would love a day of play with Bear and his friends too.

[Gulzar Malji · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's winter time and bear wants to sleep (hibernate). But bear's friends do not care, they just want him to come out and play in the snow. Bear says no and tries to go back to sleep but now he cannot sleep because he can hear his friends playing outside. So bear goes outside and plays and plays and play until his friends beg him to go back to his house and sleep.


Good way of exploring KUW in EYFS and different animals and their behaviours. The pictures and bubble writing is really engaging and interactive. I like the message of friendship that comes across. e Children will be able to relate to playing until they are exhausted and want to sleep.

[Nielson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bear has just nestled down for the winter when his rascally raccoon friends beg him to come out and play. Finally convinced, they have a rip roaring time, and in the end it is the raccoons who have to beg bear to go back in to sleep.
The playful text and bubble word format make it visually appealing and entertaining to read. Helquist's illustrations (also the illustrator of A Series of Unfortunate Events) are delightful and energetic with some full two page spreads.

[Cosette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apt.

[raccoon reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a sweet bedtime book. If you love bears, hibernation, winter, or raccoons then this is a great book to have.

I already miss the days of reading to the nugget. We must have read this one a few dozen times. These books are so short and we'd read for almost an hour every night (that's a lot of books every night) till he fell asleep in my arms...till he was like 8. I honestly thought those days might never end and he'd be 12 and we'd still be reading and rocking in the chair before bed...but you know..kids grow up. :/ But the books still stay as touchstones, bringing you solidly back to a moment in time. I love that I could give him a love of books. I love going back through these books as they leave our house and into the hands of some other child. I stock a little free library and this community eats these books up like candy. I hope it brings happiness to someone elses bedtime routine. 😪💙💙💙

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's time for Bear's hibernation, but his friends are outside making too much noise. They beg him to come and play one last time. He gives in and they have fun in the snow together. Then, it really IS bedtime for Bear.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful illustrations tell the story of a bear who is just about to settle in for the winter, when his two raccoon friends convince him to come outside and play in the snow one last time before sleeping. Very fun story.

[Cara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bear wants to lay down for his winter sleep but his friends won't let him. They keep waking him up, wanting him to play. Finally, he gets out of bed and has a lot of fun before eventually laying down to sleep.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tired bear is coaxed by his raccoon friends into having some "last time for awhile" wintertime fun before going to bed for a long nap. I have to admit that the animals joy and laughter tired out both the reader and the listener.

[Kristen Dobson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute story that my granddaughters enjoyed. The narration read like a normal story, but the dialogue of the characters read like a comic book, which gave it a funky but fun vibe. My Girlies enjoyed looking at the pictures.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

My boys thought the raccoons (I think they were raccoons...) were hilarious. Works for me.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book I want to read again and again.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of Evelyn's favorites when she was younger. We read it almost every night. We still read it occasionally when we pick it up from the library. Fun to be able to have her read it with me now.

[Jacqueline Luna · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was the first snowfall, which meant it was time for Bear to hibernate and sleep for the rest of the winter. However, Bear’s friends wanted him to go outside and play with them. He told them that he could not because it was his bedtime and turned around and tried to sleep. But, he could not sleep because all he could hear were his friends laughing and playing outside. He finally got tired of the noise and got up to go tell them to keep it down. When he opened the door, he was in for a big surprise. One of his friends threw a snowball at him and it hit him right in the face. As Bear went to go yell at them, he tripped over the front step and rolled down the hill. Bear was happy with the fun he had just experienced and decided to join his friends outside. They rolled down the snowy hill a bunch of times, built snowmen, had snowball fights, and played until the sun went down. But now, it was Bear’s friends who were tired and wanted to sleep, and it was Bear who wanted to stay outside and play. They slid down the hill one last time and then they all went to bed. “See you next spring,” they told each other.

The illustrations were simply amazing. Throughout the book, not only was there a story being told by the author, but there was also a story being told by the characters through the pictures. In each picture, there were word bubbles that shared what each character was thinking as they were playing outside. It really made you feel like you knew the characters and their personalities. It portrayed the characters emotions very well. By having these word bubbles, it really let you see the story through a different perspective other than that of the author who was just simply telling the story. The word bubbles created a sense of feeling like you were actually there in the story with the characters.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bear changes his mind about having some fun in the snow before heading off to bed.

Ages: 3 - 7

Here’s a few of our bedtime favs: watch my reel!

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[Cooper Elementary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brett Helquist also illustrated A Series of Unfortunate Events . In this picture book, Bear's raccoon friends run over after the first snowfall. They beg and plead, but Bear says it's bedtime for bears. When Bear tries desperately to sleep, the raccoons' noise as they frolic in the snow keeps him up.

Comic-like word bubbles and well portrayed emotions make this book a visual delight. This would be a great opposite to Spring is Here

[Neil Nicholson]

Bears hibernate in the winter.The problem in this story is that Bear's friends dont understand and wants him to stay and play in the snow. Because his friends are outside playing, bear cant seem to sleep. I would recommend this book for grades prek through 1st grade. It is a good book to talk about animal characteristics and habitats. It can also be used in language arts to study elements of story such as problem and solutions.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bear is supposed to be hibernating, but his two little raccoon friends want him to have one fun day in the snow first. He tries to resist, but when he goes outside to tell them he absolutely must go to bed, the raccoons start a snowball fight that leads to a cold, wet day filled with snowmen, snowballs, and sledding. This book uses a graphic novel format on many pages , and includes lots of sound words (hee, haw, yawn, haha ), written all in caps that add dimensions to the story.

[OCLS · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great tale before bed. A bear is ready to go to bed for the winter, but his pesky friends don't want to let him sleep quite yet. It's a fun romp in the snow and everyone gets their way. Great illustrations.

Dream Big (Summer Reading Program 2012) recommended book

Available from OCLS in print.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

While both a similiar title (A Bedtime for Bear by Bonny Becker, 2010) and along the same vein themes of a bear trying to hibernate while fending off requests from friends to play have been done, this book offers a decent package of fun, vividly amusing illustrations and attractive characters. Worth a readaloud to preschool audiences.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun story that features great illustrations and lots of onomatopoeia. It's a good book to read aloud, especially at bedtime (although it could get children wound up with all the sliding and outdoor fun.) We loved the winter scenes and I loved that it shows Bear settling down for a quiet rest after a rousing playtime.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's winter so Bear is trying to sleep. But his friends want him to come out and play. He is just too tired...but his friends manage to wake him up and they have a grand time playing in the snow...until finally it is bedtime for bear. The illustrations are wonderful. I love Bear's expressions and the joy and fun conveyed through the text but primarily through the illustrations. Wonderful!

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another in the bear-stays-up-to-experience-winter plotline, but this is better than most. Sleepy, grouchy bear doesn't want to go out and play, but slips on the snow as he chases his snowball-throwing friend. Sledding and snowball fun ensue.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably closer to a 3.5. I've never seen a picture book by Helquist before -- I love his brush strokes. This book would be good for a dialog study, and it would work with that other book about a bear going to sleep... Bear Snores On...

[Lisa Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

A super cute book about a bear who is just about to hybernate for the winter, when his racoon friends try and convince him to play with them one more day before they have to say good bye until spring. Fun illustrations and a cute story.