Toddler-PreS--Rhythmic rhyming verse brings a series of concerned animals into the burrow of a wakeful bear in a board book version of a popular picture book. Try as they might, the plucky crew simply cannot get their furry friend to go to sleep. Finally, the bear grows impatient and lights on a creative solution: he turns bedtime into story time, entertaining his companions and distracting himself long enough for sleepiness to kick in at last. Wilson's evocative word choices and Chapman's richly textured art convey a palpable warmth amid an air of wintry chill. VERDICT Bouncy rhythm and rhyme coupled with a catchy refrain make this a surefire read-aloud hit.

A brown bear tries his best to slumber through winter.Winter has come, and the snow has begun to pile high. Deep in his cave Bear tosses and turns, unable to fall asleep. Mouse arrives to check on his friend's hibernation and is startled to find Bear still awake. Mouse brews some tea, but when that doesn't work, Mouse enlists other woodland critters to help get bear to sleep. Lullabies, warm milk, and bedtime tales ensue. Bear and his pals are presented in Chapman's trademark warm-colored, thin-lined illustrations, which flip-flop between double-page spreads and full-bleed, full-page illustrations opposed by vignettes in ovals. Scenes in Bear's cozy den, his growing band of animal friends gathered in concern, have a rustic charm; one illustration, in which all the animals "hum," depicts them with mouths open wide, but it's so doggone cute readers won't quibble. The text is composed in rhythmic, rhyming verse, paced to slowly but surely get little readers to feel their eyelids begin to weigh just a little bit more with each turn of the page; the refrain, variations on "And the bear / can't / sleep!" will have readers chiming in before the final page quotes Bear's first outing and provides resolution: "but the bear / snores / on!" Many little ones will be ready to turn in afterward as well.A smart, stealth bedtime tale. (Picture book. 3-5) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Falling snow is piling up in drifts and Bear knows it's time to hibernate, but he just can't sleep. Mouse tiptoes into the lair to check on his friend and brew mint tea. Soon other friends drop by Badger and Hare, Gopher and Mole, then Wren, Owl, and Raven trying ideas from warm milk to lullabies, But he still / can't / sleep! Finally, Bear tells his friends a story and just before the ending, he begins to snore. Using rhythm and rhyme with practiced skill, Wilson creates a text that reads aloud well and offers many opportunities for kids to chime in with the phrase can't sleep. The story's last words, but the bear snores on, will remind fans of Wilson's first book, Bear Snores On (2002), and, with the publisher notes more a million copies in print, the Bear series has many fans. Creating cozy scenes in toasty-warm colors, the expressive acrylic paintings show up beautifully from a little distance. A fine read-aloud choice for preschool teachers looking for picture books related to bears or hibernation.--Carolyn Phelan Copyright 2018 Booklist