e the bears on the stairs real or imagined? And if they're real, where are they hiding as you make your way to bed? What's that lump under the stair carpet..? No, don't look up at the ceiling...!!
Why you should read it
Another wonderful text by Julia Jarman. It's a bedtime story that looks like it might be seriously scary for a while, but has a clever twist on the very last page! When Julia asked me if I would like to illustrate her new book, I leapt at the chance: I'd had such fun on our previous collaborations, Class Two at the Zoo, Class Three all at Sea and Kangaroo's Cancan Cafe. The bears were a real challenge though: how to make them scary enough to do justice to Julia's description('fierce and growly'...'big biffy paws'...'You should see his teeth!'), and yet not so scary that they would give small children nightmares. I worked on several drafts before I got it right. I have tried to lean more towards grumpy, bullying and slightly thuggish bears, rather than truly fierce. One of them wears a baseball cap, another picks his nose, and the little one is after all so greedy, he can be bribed with a chocolate biscuit... Hope you like my illustrations and enjoy Julia's story as much as I did.