Warm illustrations of babies in action are paired with rhyming text in this small, sturdy book. Babies may see themselves in the pages, and the simple language may encourage them to act out the rhymes too!
“In a cave in the woods, in his deep, dark lair, through the long, cold winter sleeps a great brown bear.” To the rhythm of such fetching verses, a tiny mouse seeks shelter in a bear’s snug cave. A hare soon follows, and the two quietly pop corn and brew tea as “bear snores on.” Then a badger arrives with crunchy nuts to share, followed by a gopher, a mole, a wren, and a raven. Bear’s den is full and noisy (as indicated by the large, bold type), but bear still “snores on.” Then a fleck of pepper for the stew mouse is seasoning makes Bear sneeze, and he awakens to the revelers in his cave. Happy for the company and the food they have prepared, he stays up all night telling stories. In the morning, it’s Bear who is awake; everyone else is fast asleep and snoring. The comfy look of Bear’s cave and the snappy rhythm of the text beckon youngsters into the story, and the expressively drawn, amusingly posed animal characters ensure repeated readings.
