I was sold on this book the moment I heard our cousin recite almost the entire thing from her memory. We were barely pregnant at the time (and anyone who thinks there is no such a thing as a little pregnant and a lot pregnant has clearly never been pregnant – I’m looking at you, Dad) and we were sitting around the dinner table with family announcing the news.
Cousin A (seen here with the babe that was in her belly at the time, too) was telling us all about the fun she has at home with their son, S who was almost 3 at the time, and she gushed over how great this book is:
The Bear Snores On by Wilson and Chapman is a treat to read out loud (and to chew on, per OBaby). It is one of those silly voices and sound effects books. The story is all told in rhyming verse (and forgive me while I go a little college “Early Childhood Lit” class on you here) with a rhythmic and almost percussive beat to it.
“And they nibble and they munch with a
CHEW
CHOMP
CRUNCH!
But the bear
snores
on.”
It’s easy to see how Cousin A memorized it (I think DanO and I well on our way. Who ever said that rote doesn’t work?) and it’s easy to see how it became little S’s favorite bedtime read. I am so in love with it, in fact, that while standing in the local zoo’s gift shop looking at the children’s books, I jumped at the chance to freak out talk to a complete stranger when he picked it up off the shelf.
“O that’s a very favorite book in our house!” said the crazy stranger lady who is probably a hippie, what with a baby strapped to her hip and all.
“O. Neat,” said the accosted gentleman, just trying to shop in peace as he walks away with book because, really, could he put it back now?
So this is nice, isn’t it? I can still be the crazy lady blabbing on about how much I love this book but you don’t have to feel pressured to buy it?
And now that I have officially said more words in praise of this book than there are written on its pages, I think I’ll call it good. (But really, we love this book.)
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This post is part of O My Book Week at O My Family. Read here for how you can participate!
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Hear ye, hear ye!
My very first ever guest post is up on my lovely friend Mrs. B’s site, here. Even though I’m not the teaser/hype type, I will say that it contains a never before seen picture of DanO and OBaby! (OoOoOoOo!) Go check out her blog and her baby girl of supreme cuteness! No, seriously, like, ridiculous cuteness. Just promise you’ll still think OBaby is cute, OK? Promise?
This is so great! I’m not a mom…or pregnant, but this has GOT to be one of the most fun and helpful mom blogs! I am storing all of this away in the back of my mind for someday in the (hopefully) near future. Thanks again, Allison!
WE love this book…and we recite it quite frequently (without the child around)!
I think this might be my favorite book we own, even topping the book I first memorized, “Big Red Barn.”
Oh, we LOVE this whole Bear series. We got hooked with Bear Stays Up For Christmas, and searched for more any chance we had. Love them. The rhythms are so fun and attention-catching for little ones! Good choice :)
I can’t wait to read this my little Eli who will probably love it too:)
um, that picture of Dan wearing OBaby is hot, not going to lie! :) And washing the dishes? I swear, your husband is superman with all that he does!
I would do a post on books, but I have no idea how to do the linky thing you talked about, so I’ll just say that our favorite book is Dr. Seuss’ ABCs, and also, today Joshua copied OBaby and ripped and chewed on his baby Bible.
we have all of these books! just not as board books! might need to fix that little problem now that i have a baby again!
I haven’t heard of this one. I’ll have to look into it! I’m sure both my boys, but especially John, would love it!
I haven’t heard of this one, either! You should do book week for two weeks instead of just one!
I love all the Bear books. They enchant me. Karma Wilson, Bear’s author, even has a blog, although she doesn’t post often enough: http://karmawilson.com/goodkarma/
This is indeed a “lovely,” as we call books we like. My kiddos joke that their dad is like Bear because, man, the guy can sleep through anything. Me? Not so much. =>
I love those pictures!
♥
This looks like a cute book! I’ll have to try and find it.
I’m not sure if you did this on purpose or not…but did you know that it’s also reading month?!!! I just thought this was so perfect!
One of our very favorites too! I love the whole series. One of the few that I love both the wonderful illustrations and the words. Love Karma’s use of hearty vocabulary. Words like damp, dank and scuttled, to name a few.
Yes!!!!
My 3 year old nephew recites this book in his sweet little baby voice and it melts my heart! I can’t wait till your little baby can do the same. It will be too precious!
Oh, I absolutely agree with you! We love this and the other bear books so much. I’m also big on illustrations, and these are so adorable!
Oh I love this book!! and the guest post too!!
My BF just sent me this book, as it is a fave in her house! So far, Teva loves it! I love it too. Great choice!
This looks like a wonderful book. I checked out the author’s blog too and was interested to find out about the Cheerios book giveaway. I hope they do this in Canada because Elizabeth eats a lot of Cheerios and it would be awesome to get a book with our cereal!