Bear and Mrs. Duck

This book is a great book for young children who are nervous about babysitters. Written in clear language, the main character, Nora, reassures her "child", Bear that the babysitter will be stay with him and make him comfortable while she is away. Over the course of an afternoon, Bear realizes Mrs. Duck is very caring and relaxes with her. He is happy to have Nora come back but does realize how happy he had been while she was gone.Good for any new babysitter to read to the children.

Only one of the best books ever.... which is not really what I expected. My youngest son, now 3, loves this book more than all of his other books combined - and believe me, that's saying something! Nora, Bear's... uh... owner? companion? mother? little girl?... needs to go to the store, but bear (an animated stuffed animal) has a cold and has to stay home, so Mrs. Duck (a real duck) comes to babysit. Bear is uncooperative at first, but eventually warms up to Mrs. Duck. The drawings are sweet, with an aside or two to the adult audience in the way of a "look" from Mrs. Duck. Nora returns home and all is well. It's a very simple story about an everyday event that really seems to hit home with little ones. Excellent!

The lovely illustrations bring children into the warm and reassuring world of this sweet and gentle story. Everyone would want a wonderful babysitter like Mrs. Duck. Text and pictures bring out the best in each other. The illustrations have exquisite detail--the pictures on the walls, the toys on the shelves--that make the book a delight to return to again and again.