How Could a Bear Sleep Here?

by Julie Gonzalez, Stephanie Laberis (Illustrator)

Overview

It's time for Shelby to hibernate, but how could a bear sleep in this noisy forest?

The woodpeckers are rat-tat-tatting, the squirrels are cracka-cracka-crunching--there's too much noise! When Shelby spies the perfect cave, only too late does he realize he's hopped aboard a tour bus bound for the beach.

Coupled with hysterically expressive illustrations by Stephanie Laberis, Julie Gonzalez's lively text and familiar refrain sings as Shelby, after several attempts to snooze in the tropics with increasing exhaustion, finally discovers the perfect solution to his noise problem.

This is a great read-aloud for young readers who will recognize the refrain ("How could a bear sleep here?") and the silliness of Shelby's predicament

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823441280
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	09/25/2018
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	46 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Julie Gonzalez lives with her husband, two children, and rabbit in Pennsylvania, where she always finds a peaceful place to sleep. Well, almost always. This is her first picture book.

Stephanie Laberis is a character designer and illustrator who specializes in creating art for animation and children's books, and was named to the long list for the Kate Greenaway medal. She lives in the San Francisco Bay area where, when she's not making art, she enjoys volunteering at a local wildlife hospital.

Editorial Reviews

"A light spin on the 'be careful what you wish for' theme."—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2018-07-30

A bear in search of some shut-eye ends up with a day at the beach.

Shelby, an anthropomorphic brown bear, wants to sleep but is distracted by woodland noises. He searches for a quiet spot and ends up in what he thinks is "the PERFECT cave, deep, dark, and PEACEFUL, with no crunch-munching squirrels or tat-tatting birds," but it's actually the undercarriage of a passenger bus. The bus's destination is a crowded beach, which Shelby finds just as noisy as the woods, whether he's crouched under the boardwalk or seeking refuge in seagrass. The worst disruption comes at night when, while burrowed in an elaborate sand castle, Shelby is suddenly awoken by fireworks. His sleep is then interrupted at daybreak when he hears a "cub" crying—it's a mewling orange kitten stranded on a piling. The bear swims out and rescues it, only to then be overwhelmed by news crews covering the story. He slinks off and then is delighted to find a bus that returns him to the woods where he began. The noises are still present, but odds and ends from his journey help him block them out and, finally, sleep. Throughout, the bright, cartoon-style art fills in details suggested by text, such as a swooping dragon kite that comes "SWISH-SWOOOOSH-FLAP-FLAP-FLAP[PING]" over seagrass. Although the setup has echoes of Margot Zemach's It Could Always Be Worse, this tale lacks that classic's folkloric compression.

A light spin on the "be careful what you wish for" theme. (Picture book. 2-5)

Kirkus Reviews