The Bear in My Bed

PreS-K—As she did in The Whale in My Swimming Pool, Wan plays on a child's enjoyment of absurd situations to create a surprising and humorous story. After reconciling himself to having a whale in his pool, a boy returns to his room to find a huge bear cuddled up with his teddy on his bed. As the boy tries to get himself and the bear ready for bed, the bear ignores his simple directions. The bear pulls out toys when the boy asks him to clean up, splashes water in the bathtub, can't brush his teeth properly, eats books rather than reading them, puts his underwear on his head, and takes up the entire bed. Readers will love the bear's silly antics, the boy's mounting exasperation, and his resourcefulness. Wan's flat, simple illustrations bring a soothing feeling to the bedtime story and perfectly capture the emotions of the boy and the bear. The conclusion of the story—the boy, the bear, and the boy's mother are awakened by noisy hares all over the kitchen—suggests that Wan is writing a third story with unusual animal antics.