Peace at Last

My son and I love this book. We pretend making the sound that the father bear hears, and it's good fun. Actually it's quite a long story for young children, however my son can enjoys and follow me till the end.

This book was first published in 1980, in some respects way ahead of its time. It appeals to children and mom & dad alike, just like best modern kids films do. In my family, this was the first `proper' book our oldest daughter took to at about eighteen months when no others seemed to spark anything more than lukewarm interest. She loved it straight away and it remains one of her favorites a year later. There are plenty of opportunities for your child to `get involved' in the storytelling in a very natural way. For example shouting out many of memorable, simple lines: "Oh NO, I can't stand THIS" through to: "Peace at last!" And our daughter loves to mimic the sounds that play a key part of the book e.g. tick-tock of the clock, drip-drip of the tap, and the NYAAOW of Baby Bear's imaginary plane. We've even had humorous moments with my wife when she started ad-libbing about how pathetic Mr. Bear is! I was honor bound to put forward the case for the defence. It's a surefire, all-round winner. Yeah, I think it's a masterpiece.

Colin Buchanan read this on Play School (Australia) this week and I had to go and find out what it was. It's such a lovely idea. Kind of reminiscent of Maurice Sendak in drawing style and a beautiful, gentle story. My kids really liked it (they're 2 and 4) and I'm sure yours will too.

Peace at Last by Jill Murphy is a wonderful little book that is just right for bedtime stories. It's the tale of a drowsy Mr Bear as his attempts at sleep are disrupted by Mrs Bear's snoring, baby Bear's playing, clocks and cats, taps and owls (something no matter how old, we can all relate to). The text is easy to follow and the artwork is ideal for little ones. My four-year-old twins - Lucy and Joshua - adore this book, it was one of their first and we'll be reading it long after others have lost their appeal.