Goodnight Already!

Bear is extremely tired, and wants only to fall into blissful sleep. Unfortunately for him, his neighbor and friend Duck is wide awake, and wanting company. Bear grows ever more irate during his hilarious exchanges with Duck, as the anatine interloper attempts to inveigle him into cookie-making, book-reading, and various other activities. Duck even goes so far as to let himself into Bear's house with the spare emergency key, after being repulsed the first two times! IN the end, his shenanigans tire him out, while Bear is left oddly sleepless...

Having seen Goodnight Already performed at story-time by two story-tellers, one taking the part of Bear and the other the role of Duck, I can attest to the fact that it makes for an amusing show more read-aloud selection, especially when the performer(s) assume Bear's obviously frustrated tone. The text is straightforward dialogue, and works very well when performed, while the artwork, done by the amazing Benji Davies, is colorful and entertaining, capturing the humor of the story quite adeptly. Recommended to anyone looking for amusing bedtime books! show less

Bear is so tired that he feels like he could sleep for months, but his neighbor Duck is wide awake! Duck comes to Bear and asks him to play cards, make smoothies, and do lots of other activities, but Bear sends him away. Duck comes back asking for help making cookies. Again, Bear sends him away. Duck comes back one more time to get Bear to play with him, but Bear just wants to sleep. Bear’s crankiness makes Duck feel sleepy, but now Bear doesn’t feel like sleeping.

This book perfectly captures the relationship of a parent and child when the child won’t go to bed. Both parents and children will be able to identify with the characters and laugh at Duck’s antics to try to get Bear to play with him. Even though the story itself is show more simple, the characters are well-developed. Duck and Bear have distinct, fun personalities and readers get to know them even in this one interaction between them. Many readers will wish for more from Bear and Duck in other books after reading this funny nighttime story. show less

I seriously related to this book. I am bear and my kids are duck. And yes- it seems like after all their waking me up- suddenly I can't sleep anymore. It had cute illustrations too. Kind of fun.

Well, I love [b:I Love You Already!|25817276|I Love You Already!|Jory John|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1452372986s/25817276.jpg|45672812] but didn't realize this pair had an earlier adventure. This is funny, and oh so True, but not as poignant and heartwarming as the other. If you can get that, don't bother with this.

Read on May 23, 2015

Loved it so much I think I'm going to buy a copy for Evie's library. This poor bear is SO TIRED and his duck neighbor is NOT TIRED. Hilarity ensues.

Poor sleepy bear kept up by their night-duck neighbor. Text is fun to read with voices for little ones and lends itself to conversations about bedtime. Great background color choices to differentiate between the grumpy sleepy bear and wise-awake duck.

Jen Robinson's book page.

Bear and Duck have a similar dynamic to Bonny Becker's Bear and Mouse: Bear is grumpy and just wants to go to sleep ("for weeks. Months, even!"), but his neighbor Duck keeps waking him up, pestering him with activity ideas, then asking to borrow things. Predictably, Duck ends up getting tired and going to sleep, while Bear is left awake.

I loved the way Bear's stuffed rabbit's eyes popped open when Duck burst in and woke both of them up.