View source for Can't You Sleep, Little Bear? by Martin Waddell and Barbara Firth

{{infobox2 
|title= Can't You Sleep, Little Bear?
|author= Martin Waddell and Barbara Firth
|reviewer= Magda Healey
|genre=For Sharing 
|summary= Enchanting book, perfect for bedtime reading (unless your child has a real darkness phobia); suitable for older toddlers and younger pre-schoolers alike.
|rating=4 
|buy= Maybe
|borrow= Yes
|pages=32 
|publisher= Walker Books Ltd
|date= April 2005
|isbn=978-1844284917 
|aznuk=1844284913
|aznus=1844284913
|cover=1844284913 
}}

Little Bear is afraid of the dark: the dark is so big, and not even the biggest lantern can dispel it. What can the Big Bear do? 

Most little children have gone through a period of repeatedly getting out of bed and demanding something from the parents (even if it wasn't an increasingly bigger lantern), so they (and their parents too) will be able to relate to this one. 

The illustrations are typically cute, but just about this side of nauseating, and the text is nicely repetitive which all little children (but not always their parents) like. In fact, the sequence of Little Bear's getting up repeatedly is very long: it becomes almost as annoying as the real event must have been for the Big Bear! But that is the point, I suppose.

The resolution is lovely: out of the cave in the starry night with the Little Bear asleep in Big Bear's arms; although it's not particularly helpful as an example for little bears to follow.

I don't think this tale will offer a particularly great reassurance to children seriously and terribly afraid of the dark, although they (as will those with only mild worries) will be able to relate to Little Bear's fears. The reassurance is there, but it's not the main point, the main point is a story being told to the reader in words and pictures. 

My little boy likes it, but not madly so, thus a 4 star rating, and a moderately enthusiastic recommendation for buying as a good bedtime story for 2 to 4 year olds. 

For a story about a child who wouldn't sleep we can recommend [[Oliver Who Would Not Sleep by Mara Bergman and Nick Maland]].

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[[Category:Martin Waddell]]
[[Category:Barbara Firth]]