Asleep Under the Stars

by Else Holmelund Minarik, Chris Hahner (Illustrator)

On a beautiful spring evening, Little Bear and his friends pitch a tent in the garden. They are going to camp out for the very first time. But Little Bear finds that sleeping outdoors isn't quite as peaceful as sleeping in his own bed, especially when there's something out there making a spooky noise!

Ages 2 - 4

Genres: Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2004

About the author

Else Holmelund Minarik was the author of the Little Bear series of children's books, which were successful as books, and were also made into a successful children's TV series. The Little Bear books sold more than 6 million copies worldwide.

Else Minarik was also the author of another well-known book, No Fighting, No Biting!

She was born in Denmark, and with her family immigrated to the United States at the age of four. After she graduated from Queens College, City University of New York she became a journalist for the Rome Daily Centennial newspaper and taught first-graders during WWII. Minarik lived in Nottingham, New Hampshire.

Reviews

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really excited about this story. It seemed like Little Bear was going to go camping and I love camping, but while I enjoyed the beginning of the story, the end of it felt jumbled to me. The illustrations on the other hand are awesome. I love the texture and color in the drawings.

[SPOILERS AHEAD]

Little Bear and its friends grew sleepy when all of a sudden they heard a noise and a crash into their tent. It turned out to be Turkey. Turkey was saying he got hurt, but Little Bear's friends were saying he's fine and then invited Turkey in for a midnight snack. They don't even know Turkey! They should have told Mother Bear or Father Bear about Turkey and not wait until the morning to introduce Turkey to them. Plus they were going to sleep, now they're going to eat? It's such a weird order of events.

[Kelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although it’s meant to be an innocent children’s story, the addition of the turkey stranger to their tent isn’t a great idea to teach children.