I have a mom confession… My child never sleeps. He never has. Oh, a few hours here and there, but honestly you could say that at 17, he still doesn't sleep through the night. Of course, as a teen, he is better at keeping himself occupied when he inevitably wakes up than he was at age 4. I have lived the eat, drink, uncomfortable bed, can't find the Lovey dance on many occasions. Still, this book had me laughing, because EVERY parent knows Mama Bear's pain.

Of course, this book isn't really about bedtime. It is about sneaking fun animal and nature facts into little brains. The book is choc full of them. Mama explains the reasons bears and other animals hibernate, and why some don't. In addition the gorgeous illustrations beautifully capture the turn of colorful autumn into the white of winter.





This book does double duty as a great bedtime story and of fun early reader for classtime about winter and hibernation. There is also a section in the back of the book offering facts about bear hibernation, animals who hibernate, and the characteristics of a bear den. This will be a book that preschoolers and lower elementary kids will love to read time and again.
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Hush Up and Hibernate was given to me by Hidden Gems Books in exchange for a fair and honest review.

In this adorable childrens book, baby bear is doing everything possible to keep from hibernating. He's hungry, he's thirsty, he needs to do any and everything except go to sleep.

I loved this book because, as a mother and now grandmother raising a grandchild, I know this routine. Children will come up with some outlandish excuses to keep from going to bed. My five year old grandson loved it and giggled throughout the book. He knows because he's given some of these same excuses. The illustrations were beautifully done and fit the story. I highly recommend this book for a fun bedtime read! ( )

I love books about bears, fall, and hibernation, but I get so disappointed when I find ones with great illustrations but factual inaccuracies! However, when I saw that Sandra Markle had written a picture book I was sure that would not be an issue - and it wasn't!

The leaves are changing color and winter is in the air and Mama Bear knows it's time to hibernate. Baby Bear is not so in love with the idea though. He's hungry! He's thirsty! He wants to catch a fish! His bed is too hard! Parents will laugh along with Baby Bear's delays until Mama Bear finally loses it and says "ENOUGH!" Baby Bear gives in and they are soon snoring away... until Baby Bear wakes up one more time, "is it spring yet?"

Back matter includes information on hibernation, how it works, which animals do and don't hibernate, and activities to try. There's also additional activities to explore.

This is definitely a fiction book - the very human expression of exasperation on Mama Bear's face will resonate with parents everywhere who have a non-napper - but it also incorporates true facts about bears. It shows the baby hibernating with the mother (seriously, I once found a really gorgeous book that had the baby bear being raised by the father), talks about which animals do and don't hibernate, and shows a nice picture of a cozy den in a tree with leaves.

Verdict: An excellent addition to storytimes about hibernation and to your picture book collection in general. Recommended.

ISBN: 9781943978366; Published 2018 by Persnickety Press; Borrowed from another library in my consortium