I've Seen Santa!

by David Bedford, Tim Warnes

Little Bear is so full of questions and concerns about Santa that he cannot fall asleep on Christmas Eve, in a story that expertly captures all of a child's anticipation and excitement on this special holiday. Reprint.

Genres: Christmas, Picture Books, Childrens, Holiday, Fiction, Animals, Storytime

26 pages, Paperback

First published September 5, 2005

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

David Bedford has a BS and PhD in Biology. He gave up biology in 1997 to write full time.

Reviews

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I mean that's so freaking cute 😭

[Melki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, I loved this sweet and silly tale of a small bear spending a long Christmas eve trying to catch Santa in the act. Tim Warnes' beautiful artwork makes this one special, and made me add an extra star to my rating.



A terrific tale to read to your own little cubs in anticipation of the big event.

[Kinga (oazaksiazek) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jakie to było słodkie! Bardzo mocna polecajka.

Tata Miś rozwalił system, ale Mama Miś bardzo ładnie wybrnęła z sytuacji w jakiej ją zastano 😆

[Les Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely seasonal story for our family read tonight.

[Levi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute 💕

[Snow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is really cute! It's one of my christmas favorites ♡

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

Avoid. Puts doubt into your child’s mind - to guess that Santa isn’t real. Read this with my 3 year old and was immediately asked a number of questions that shouldn’t have been asked for at least another 3+ years.
Nice illustrations though.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

My ten year old rates it 3 1/2 stars. Cute little story about waiting up for Santa, but not one to write home about.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute story about Christmas and the anticipation of seeing Santa. I'm sure we will read it many times before December 25th.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I loved most of this book are the illustrations. The story was sweet, but the bears are so darn cute, especially the little one, and I love how the illustrator incorporated a little mouse in each set of pictures. I love when artists put little secrets in their work. It was like a fun little secret game of "find the little mouse" while reading the story.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cozy, funny, and sweet story for December nights, I’ve Seen Santa tells of the Christmas Eve shenanigans of a family of bears as Little Bear eagerly awaits the arrival of Santa Claus. I especially love the illustrations, full of soft textures and warm colors brightened by the glow of the lanterns throughout the bears’ home.

[Sourimak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Les parents qui font tout pour garder bien caché le secret de Noël auront quelques frissons en lisant ce livre. Mais rassurez-vous, le Père Noël sera bien au rendez-vous et son secret bien gardé. Les trop belles images de Tim Warnes rendent un bel hommage à tous les petits oursons qui rêvent de voir le Père Noël !

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few sentences per page. Good for mixed family storytimes, older preschoolers, or K-1st. A little lengthy for a younger crowd storytime. About Little Bear, Big Bear, and Mama Bear who all eagerly wait for Santa. They finally fall asleep together waiting for Santa and Santa sees them but they don't end up catching him. 

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like this book because there was no Daddy bear. I thought the big bear was the daddy bear, but I think he's just a big brother, because Mommy bear gets referred to as Mommy, but big bear never gets referred to as Daddy.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book especially for older young kids. My daughter loved seeing santa at the end.

[Sherry Scheline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it I just didn’t understand if Bog Bear was a brother or father

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

J'aime tellement cet auteur!

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another cute story of anticipation for the special day. Thematically paired with Llama Llama Holiday Drama. Character paired with Merry Christmas Big Hungry Bear!

[Kendyl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think the story is good because it is funny

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a cute Christmas book!

[Alisha]

Cute.

[Jaspard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Livre pour enfants. Un petit ours fait tout pour voir le père Noël passer les cadeaux

[Dustin Dye · Rating 3 out of 5]

I seent him!

[Kc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute story

[Lesley Dahlseng · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many questions and too much anticipation leaves Little Bear unable to sleep. He wants to see Santa! Yet, each time he thinks he hears Santa, it turns out to be his parents. First, Big Bear is caught drinking Santa's milk. Then he is caught eating Santa's pies. Lastly, Mommy is caught stuffing presents in the stockings! Will Santa ever come? Or should it be asked . . . IS there a Santa?

David Bedford masterfully walks the fine line between a parent's vs. child's version of Christmas Eve, creating a story that pulls the child's anticipation right in with Little Bear and makes for a good chuckle from the parents. But for those parents who don't want the cat out of the bag quite yet - have no fear. Despite what may seem like a "close call", Little Bear never seriously questions Santa's existence, and we are later satisfied by a jolly picture of Santa eating his pie and smiling at the sleeping family of bears curled up on the floor. The joke may be on us adults, for "they never did see Santa . . . even though Santa saw them!"

Likes: Everything. The illustrations are perfect, and the story captures great feeling and meaning within short, simple text.
Dislikes: Nothing.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's A Book Review

The Turkeybird Speaks:
“Santa! Santa! This is such a good book! I can’t wait to finally stay up to see Santa this year and every night until Christmas I will be requesting this book just to get ready for that night. I’ve already asked mom if we can set out milk and pies. And I have my flashlight ready, but unlike Little Bear, I’m not going to fall asleep before I see Santa.”

Mom’s Two Cents:
“The Turkeybird absolutely loves this book and every night for the last two weeks he’s asked for it by name. Because he will only be 3 this next year this will be his first Christmas where actually “gets” the idea of Christmas. It’s wonderful because this book has playfully described the excitement of that great night and its magical guest. I know I’m now more excited just to see the Turkeybird’s expression when he sees the magic of Santa for the “first” time."

[Rosa Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a cute Christmas Eve story book this was! My almost 3 year old granddaughter and I smiled and enjoyed this story from the start to finish. All Little Bear wanted was to get ready and see Santa. But he needed to go to bed, was suppose to go to sleep so Santa could come. But he hears a slurp and thinks he'll see Santa, and he finds his daddy drinking Santa's milk! He goes back to bed and then hears a munch and again thinks he'll see Santa but finds his daddy eating Santa's cookies! So they both decide to stay up to wait for Santa then they hear something and look and find Mamma putting gifts in the stockings! She says she was putting her gifts to them in there and they might as well all stay up for Santa... so they all cuddle up and wait... they never did see Santa although Santa saw them!

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Browsing books to give my friends' children as gifts since I won't gift anything I haven't first read myself.

Picture it: You're six or seven or eight years old. You're starting to get a little suspicious about the realities of Santa Claus, but you still really want to believe in the magic. (Yes, eventually the magic will take on a new meaning when you are old enough to understand it comes from inside you and that you don't care anymore whether "not believing" is the cool stance to take.) But as you stand on that cusp, these charming bears let you safely test the waters on your theories, leaving you with permission to keep on believing by the end. That is what this book does. And it doesn't hurt that the bears are adorable too.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sweet story about a little bear who wants to stay up to see Santa. He keeps sneaking out of bed to see if Santa has arrived only to find his parents making noise. As he becomes worried that Santa might not make it, his parents volunteer to stay up with him. By the time Santa arrives, they are all cuddled up, sound asleep.

The illustrations perfectly capture a little one's worry and impatience at Christmas time, as well as the affection of this little family. One of my toddler's favorite holiday books.

[Alyson (Kid Lit Frenzy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun story of a family of bears who are having trouble going to sleep on Christmas eve. Little bear catches papa bear drinking the milk, and eating the blueberry pie left for Santa. When they decide together to wait up for Santa, they catch mama bear at the stockings. Now the whole family is in on waiting for Santa. Will he come or won't he?