The Bear With Sticky Paws Won't Go To Bed by Clara Vulliamy
| The Bear With Sticky Paws Won't Go To Bed by Clara Vulliamy | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Keith Dudhnath
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| Summary: Another sweet tale about the bear with sticky paws. This time, Pearl doesn't want to go to bed, so she and the bear go on a big adventure. It's probably too energetic to read as an actual bedtime book, but it's still great fun. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 32 | Date: October 2009 |
| Publisher: Orchard | |
| ISBN: 978-1408300640 | |
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It's Pearl's bedtime, but she says she's really busy and isn't going to sleep. She just wants to play and play and play. When the bear with sticky paws rings the doorbell, he whisks her away on an amazing adventure - although as you might expect, the bear has a little more energy than Pearl and eventually she does get a little sleepy.
...Won't Go To Bed continues in the same enjoyable vein as the original The Bear With Sticky Paws and the follow-up ...Goes To School. Pearl and the bear romp through their quest with wide-eyes and loads of thrills. Writing in the present tense gives it an immediacy, and although it does sound a little odd at first, it soon comes into its own. I loved the ear for childlike dialogue - things like let's do an adventure and let's do sand sounds exactly like a child trying to get to grips with the complexities of language.
Clara Vulliamy's illustrations have a classic simplicity to them. They're bold and cute, without being sickly. They strike a similar tone to Shirley Hughes' picture books, although without quite the same level of detail. All the young 'uns will say awwww at the bear, girl and cat - they're sweet characters and perfect to identify with. It all feels very warm and enticing.
Despite the subject matter and natural ending, The Bear With Sticky Paws Won't Go To Bed is probably a bit too energetic to use as an actual bedtime book. It's almost more a book about playing than falling asleep, so read it during the day and join in with the fun. Woven amongst the story is a countdown from ten to one, which adds an extra angle to the story, but without feeling tacked on. It helps boost familiarity with numbers, whilst offering an interesting story in its own right, which counting books often fail to do. Recommended.
My thanks to the publishers for sending it to Bookbag.
If you're looking for a sweet bedtime book, Just Like Tonight by Amber Stewart and Layn Marlow is lovely, and features in our Top Ten Picture Books For Overcoming Bedtime Woes. If it's bears you love, Miki by Stephen Mackey has a gorgeous polar bear that you'll want to stroke. It Was Bedtime In The Jungle by John Butler is another lovely counting book with a bedtime theme.
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You can read more book reviews or buy The Bear With Sticky Paws Won't Go To Bed by Clara Vulliamy at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy The Bear With Sticky Paws Won't Go To Bed by Clara Vulliamy at Amazon.com.
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