Bear is unhappy because she misses the fun of Christmas every year. But she is so sleepy that she can’t stay awake even though she tries. ‘It’s a very deep sleep called hibernation. It’s what bears do,’ she explains to Monkey, her friend.
Christmas is Monkey’s favourite time of the year, and he doesn’t want Bear to miss all the festivities and fun. So he plans to wake her up along with a lot of friends and presents. They go to her cave the night before Christmas—with presents, honey and berries that they place under her nose. But Bear is snoring, deep in sleep, and will not wake up.
All of Bear’s friends who have gathered there—Mosquito, Koel, Rooster, Duck, Goat Horse and even Elephant, try their hardest to wake her with their own peculiar sounds and actions. But nothing works, and Bear just keeps snoring! The friends give up sadly, and plan to come back when it is warmer. Maybe her hibernation will be over by then.
Many months later, in warm April, when the friends line up outside Bear’s cave once again with all their Christmas presents, they are in for a great surprise themselves. Turn the pages to find out what it is!
This heartwarming picture book with its simple story of Bear and her friends also tells little children all about hibernation. These days, even small kids are expected to absorb a lot of information at school, and the story has been found to be the most effective medium of teaching for all ages. This was recognized even long ago in ancient India when storytellers or kathavachakas would orally instruct the vast illiterate mass of men, women and children through their stories in the village square, at a time when there were no schools, books or even the written word!
A note on hibernation at the end of the picture book complements the story of Bear’s Deep Sleep with many interesting facts on hibernation, making the information complete.
This enjoyable book holds the reader’s attention right through to the end and will amuse him or her with all the loud and sometimes strange animal sounds, as they try to shake Bear out of her deep sleep. The expressive and entertaining illustrations complement the text effectively. Nalini Sorensen is an award-winning children’s author who has written for various age groups and publishers in India. She has also written readers for schools. The illustrator, Shubham Lakhera, is also an award-winning illustrator of children’s books and magazines, and won the Illustrator of the Year Award at the Publishing Next Industry Awards, 2023.
Well printed on good paper in an attractive size, with a clear font and colours, one only wishes the cover paper was heavier to withstand all the rough handling by little ones! This is especially so as this picture book is priced quite high.