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literacydocent's review against another edition
5.0
Oh.My.Cuteness! Get your own copy...quick! This one MUST be read aloud!
jasminemarie's review
5.0
Hilarious! The illustrations add to the story and make it even more funny. Definitely has potential to be a bedtime story classic.
tashrow's review
4.0
Bear is so very tired, all he wants to do is go to sleep. But his next door neighbor, Duck, feels exactly the opposite and has never felt more awake as he reads a book on staying awake and drinks a pot of coffee. As Bear climbs into bed and pulls up his blanket, ready to snooze, Duck comes over for a visit. Duck offers all sorts of ideas of what they could do together, but all Bear wants to do is sleep. Just when Bear is again about to fall asleep, Duck returns with a new idea to bake something. But Bear once again sends him on his way. When Duck comes in for a third time, Bear has had enough! The evening though has time for one final ironic twist by the end of the book, one that will get readers giggling.
John captures both the very essence of being tired and wanting nothing more than to sleep and the zany energy that comes with insomnia. It is that dynamic being thrust together in this picture book that leads to the hilarity. It also helps that John has impeccable comic timing throughout the book, using repeating themes to really make the scenes pop. The pace switches from one character to the next beautifully, the dozy slow of Bear and the yapping zing of Duck.
Davies’ illustrations capture the same shifts in energy and pace. Duck’s entire home is bright yellow while Bear is surrounded by sleepy blues. The silly additions of coffee and a book to stay awake make the situation even funnier. The illustrations are deceptively simple, making this a very approachable book for children, one that conveys its humor right from the cover.
Perfect for kids who both love bedtime and hate it, as well as for their sleepy parents. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
John captures both the very essence of being tired and wanting nothing more than to sleep and the zany energy that comes with insomnia. It is that dynamic being thrust together in this picture book that leads to the hilarity. It also helps that John has impeccable comic timing throughout the book, using repeating themes to really make the scenes pop. The pace switches from one character to the next beautifully, the dozy slow of Bear and the yapping zing of Duck.
Davies’ illustrations capture the same shifts in energy and pace. Duck’s entire home is bright yellow while Bear is surrounded by sleepy blues. The silly additions of coffee and a book to stay awake make the situation even funnier. The illustrations are deceptively simple, making this a very approachable book for children, one that conveys its humor right from the cover.
Perfect for kids who both love bedtime and hate it, as well as for their sleepy parents. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
brucefarrar's review
4.0
Bear is so tired; he just wants to go to sleep, but next door Duck is wide awake, and decides to visit Bear. Although Bear makes it clear over and over again that he does not want to do anything but sleep, Duck does not listen.
Davies’s bold and colorful art works wonderfully well with John’s silly story of an interrupted bedtime.
Davies’s bold and colorful art works wonderfully well with John’s silly story of an interrupted bedtime.
mat_tobin's review
4.0
I've read a few of John Jory's books and I always feel, in the best possible way, he has half an eye on the adult reader as much as he does the child reader. In Goodnight Already! Bear, as is naturally the way of his kind, is so tired that he could sleeps for weeks, 'months even' whilst his neighbour, duck is busily reading '101 ways to stay awake' in the house next door.
And so begins a series of repeated interruptions from duck to try and engage his friend in some form of irritating form of play be it 'talk all night', 'make smoothies' or 'start a band'. With each visit, Bear becomes increasingly aggravated until it all gets too much.
The contrast in size between the great, heavy lumbering bear and the small, frenetic duck works well and Davies does wonders to set the tone with the use of block colours to set to contrast mood and heighten energy. It could be argued that with the punchline over, this is not a book for multiple re-readings but I think children will gleefully enjoy repeating watching bear's steady decline into sleep-deprived madness and duck's comical escapades.
And so begins a series of repeated interruptions from duck to try and engage his friend in some form of irritating form of play be it 'talk all night', 'make smoothies' or 'start a band'. With each visit, Bear becomes increasingly aggravated until it all gets too much.
The contrast in size between the great, heavy lumbering bear and the small, frenetic duck works well and Davies does wonders to set the tone with the use of block colours to set to contrast mood and heighten energy. It could be argued that with the punchline over, this is not a book for multiple re-readings but I think children will gleefully enjoy repeating watching bear's steady decline into sleep-deprived madness and duck's comical escapades.
katebrarian's review
3.0
This book was cute! It would be fun to read it out loud with different voices for the bear and the duck.
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