Books with author JoEllen McAllister Stammen

Imagine have four beloved teddy bears, each of whom is afraid of something at bedtime. That is the challenge for the little boy in Jim Aylesworth's charming bedtime story, Teddy Bear Tears. Just as the boy is ready to settle in for the night, each bear -- Willie Bear, then Fuzzy, Ringo, and Little Sam -- begins to sniffle and each's particular fear has to be explained away. Whether it is noises outside or concern that there might be something scary under the bed, our hero offers explanations for each and, in the process, just might make the nighttime worry-free for himself, too.

As the sun sets, a father puts his child to bed. Weaving images of mice, of birds, and of polar bears, he tells her that sleep nibbles the last crumb of day; sleep gathers her beneath its feathery wings; and that sleep holds her tight in the furry dark. And as the images of sleep grow larger and larger, the father hopes that sleep will come to his child very soon. In this glorious companion to If You Were Born a Kitten, Marion Dane Bauer and JoEllen McAllister Stammen have created a classic lullaby, as warm and loving as any child and parent at bedtime.