Common Sense Note
The humorous, first-person narrative in a very believable child's voice, and the illustrated details, bring Ira's world to life.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Linda Rahm-Crites
Sleeping over for the first time represents a major milestone. Even if it's just a matter of going next door to spend the night with your best friend, it can, as Ira discovers, present some unexpected dilemmas. What if you take your teddy bear and your best friend decides you're a baby? Should you follow the advice of your parents or your older sibling, or your own feelings?.
Ira's parents encourage him to do what he wants to do. But, perhaps more relevant for preschoolers, the story acknowledges that other people are not always so supportive. Older siblings, themselves (supposedly) newly liberated from a dependency on teddy bears, can zero right in on one's vulnerabilities with devastating effect. And, of course, it's so satisfying when they turn out to be wrong!
The artwork, pen-and-ink drawings with selective coloring, helps underscore the humor and has a little something extra for parents or older children returning to the book. For example, when Ira's sister smugly asserts that Reggie will laugh at him, we see the family cat toying with a ball on the floor and wearing a similar expression. In one of the best illustrations, rubber-stamp messages are superimposed on a picture of Ira and Reggie playing "office" in goofy goggles and false eyeglasses and mustache.
Plot Summary:
To take his teddy bear, or not to take his teddy bear? That is the question facing Ira before his first-ever sleepover. Bernard Waber's much loved picture book explores some of the familiar dilemmas and insecurities of childhood, but with a sweetly comic twist. It turns out Ira's inclination was right all along: Even big boys need teddy bears.
Related Books:
There's more about Ira and Reggie in Ira Says Goodbye. Waber's humorous, humane touch also informs the popular Lyle the Crocodile books, such as The House on East 88th Street and Lovable Lyle.
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Social BehaviorIra's older sister seems to delight in stirring things up. |
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