Bernard Waber (1921–2013)

Recommended by the Adults Who Read Children's Books book club.

A sneaky seek-and-find where all of the employees at the Park Snoot Hotel utterly gaslight the reader about the impossibility of a mouse's presence in the hotel ("No, no, no, there is no mouse here....Do you see a mouse? I do not see a mouse"), guaranteed to make observant readers absolutely lose their minds. Despite all the denial, Hyde & Snide Elegant Pest Management is brought in, but the mouse - quite obvious to readers - is show more invisible to Hyde and Snide. They certify the hotel mouse-free and leave - and the mouse waves goodbye from a window.

See also: Life on Mars by Jon Agee show less

I'm not the target market. That said, this was terrific. I think I first read it as a tween (not that we called ourselves that then), and since have read it to younger children, and both they and I really enjoyed it. It's actually funny, and it's insightful, and it's smart, and the illustrations are a perfick fit for it.

(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot show more of 4s). show less

Excited at the prospect of his very first sleepover, at the home of his best friend Reggie, Ira is brought up short when his older sister asks whether he will be bringing Tah Tah - his beloved teddy bear - along. Convinced by her sly questioning, and outright hints, that Reggie will think he is a baby for doing any such a thing, Ira leaves Tah Tah at home, only to make a surprising discovery during the course of a bedtime ghost-story recitation.

Waber has his finger on the pre-school pulse show more here, perfectly capturing the embarrassment a young boy might feel, at his attachment to his teddy bear, as well as the taunting to which siblings often subject one another. The illustrations have a distinctive vintage sensibility, with that "hastily sketched" feeling (I'm sure they were anything but) - all black outlines, filled in with color - that I associate with the 1970s. Ira Sleeps Over is definitely a classic for this age group, and one I'm glad to have read! Now I need to find some of Waber's Lyle books... show less

This book is such a classic, I can’t even. The drawings are great, the humor is witty, and anyone with kids, who knows kids, or ever slept with a stuffed animal themselves will relate to and enjoy “Ira Sleeps Over”. Waber captures the child’s mind and thought process perfectly. One of my fave kids’ books!