Mother-daughter author team Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple present this lovely wintry bedtime tale told in rhyme. Bidding a series of animals to rest, in their various ways and homes, the narrative concludes with a young child, who is also bidden to sleep...

Pairing an immensely engaging read-aloud text - "Sleep, black bear, sleep. / The hills are bare and steep. / You hibernate through winter's snow; / Your heart beats steady, strong and slow. / You wait till spring to rise and go. / Sleep, black bear, sleep" - with lovely artwork from illustrator Brooke Dyer, Sleep, Black Bear, Sleep would make for a wonderful bedtime book, especially in the wintertime. The text read well and is soothing, while the visuals are cute and cozy - perfect for young children drifting off to sleep. ( )

All the woodland animals are tucked into their burrows, dens, etc. for nighttime.
1 book

Sleep, Black Bear, Sleep is a picture book about different animals that hibernate throughout the winter. At first glance, one might think it is only a story about black bears, but it continues on discussing animals such as bats, frogs, and gophers. I learned a good amount of information from this book. I was unaware of just how many hibernate throughout the winter. I thought only bears hibernated. This story provides the reader with information about hibernation in a fun and engaging way.
This story uses poetry to engage the reader. It uses a rhyming technique to keep the reader interested in what he or she is learning about. I thought the authors did a good job rhyming different words together. I did not like the amount of repetition used in the story. I began to feel bored while reading it. Every page would start and end the same way. For example, “doze, beaver, doze” is how a page regarding a beaver would begin and finish. This is good for young and struggling readers to feel confident, but can also become too much. One think I did like about this book was it taught readers about hibernation. On one page it says, “you hibernate through winter’s snow; your heart beats steady, strong, and slow. You wait till spring to rise and go.” While I thought it is important for the reader to understand what hibernation is, I also think it would be good for the reader to know why. I think that would help the reader connect to the text more. The main idea behind the text was hibernation. The story taught the reader which animals hibernate and what hibernation is. At the end, it connects the story to the reader. It compares what animals are doing to them going to sleep at night. In general, the book was decent. I am not sure how highly I would recommend this book to others, but overall it was okay. ( )

This book gives a short goodnight rhyme for each diffrent animal from a bear, to bats to a beaver. The end even gives a goodnight to a little child.

One of the best read-alouds I've found. Very educational, as well a predictable with it's rhyme and repetition. late 1st- early 2nd grade level. Good for mastering long-vowel sounds and words ending in -tle as well as other irregular endings ( )