Happy New Year, Everyone!

I hope you all had wonderful holidays and that 2026 is off to a fabulous start!

I have SUCH a fun book to share with you today that I can’t even wait to show it to you, but first I have a giveaway winner to announce from the last Tuesday Debut of 2025. Brenda Covert, author of Meanwhile Back At The Manger, kindly offered an autographed paperback copy of her book to one lucky winner. And that winner is. . .

MLRobbie!!! (who I think is Margaret Robinson?)

Congratulations, ML-hopefully-Margaret 😊 I hope you enjoy your book! Please email me at your earliest convenience and I will facilitate getting your book to you!

And now! Today’s Perfect Picture Book!!! Ta-da!

Title: This Is Not A Sleepy Bear Book

Written By: Brian Gehrlein

Illustrated By: Jennifer Harney

Publisher: Little, Brown Books For Young Readers, November 11, 2025, fiction

Suitable For Ages: 3-7

Themes/Topics: bedtime/hibernation, humor, surprise

The end papers would have us believe that this is a sleepy bear book.

text copyright Brian Gehrlein 2025, illustration copyright Jennifer Harney 2025, Little, Brown BFYR

And clearly there is nothing in that illustration to suggest otherwise. . . 😊

text copyright Brian Gehrlein 2025, illustration copyright Jennifer Harney 2025, Little, Brown BFYR

Opening:
“Deep in the woods, leaves swirled to the ground.
Morning frost sparkled on the forest floor.
Bear sniffed the crisp air and knew it was time. . .
time for a long winter’s nap.
Without his nap, he’d be a cranky bear.
And who wants to be a cranky bear?

He yawned a big,
sleepy bear yawn.

And opened his cozy,
quiet den to. . .”

(is there any way anyone can NOT turn the page at this juncture?! 😊 )

Brief Synopsis: This was supposed to be a calm quiet bedtime story – a nice sleepy bear book. But when Bear heads for bed, things take an unexpected turn. Smoke? Lasers? Dangerously crowded balloon-filled rooms? How on earth will Bear settle down for his long winter’s nap?!

text copyright Brian Gehrlein 2025, illustration copyright Jennifer Harney 2025, Little, Brown BFYR

Links To Resources: Some great and super fun ideas from author Brian Gehrlein! Thanks, Brian!

Hibernation Forts: 

Kids use pillows, cushions, and blankets to design the ultimate cozy den that Bear would love to settle into for a long winter’s nap. 

For more fun, act out scenes from the book or enjoy a pre-hibernation snack inside your cozy fort! 

Bear & Owl Masks: 

Use construction paper, cardboard, or paper plates to make Bear and Owl masks. Bring their personalities to life with how you design each mask (Bear is playful and ready for fun, while Owl is serious and often worried). 

For more fun, put the masks on and act out scenes from the book, or invent new stories for the characters to explore!

Den Diorama: 

Use shoeboxes to make cozy bear dens. Kids can decorate one side as the quiet, cozy den and the other as the chaotic, musical den. 

Hibernate or Party Time: 

• When the leader yells “Hibernate!” everyone curls up and pretends to snore
• When they yell “Party Time!” everyone dances, stomps, or plays pretend instruments.

For more fun, use your favorite party music. When the music stops, everybody lies down and pretends to hibernate! 

This IS a Sleepy Bear Book: 

Kids write or draw their own version of what a “real” sleepy bear book might look like, including soft lullabies, calm forest scenes, etc. Then, on the next page, they flip the script and add a twist: “But THEN…” and introduce something totally unexpected.

Jazz Flute Solo: 

Kids make their own flute out of household items like a paper towel roll or a dowel rod. Using a flute music found online, kids “play” for their stuffed animal friends or actual family! 

For more fun, kids can form their own animal band and give everyone an instrument to make an unforgettable forest performance! 

Why I Like This Book: I don’t just like this book. I LOVE it! Sooo funny! It starts with lovely. lyrical text about the morning frost and the crisp air and sets the reader up for the classic quiet bedtime/hibernation story, but with the very first page turn, things begin to go awry. Owl, who is in charge, does his best to turn the ship around by starting over with some new lovely, quiet lyrical text – geese overhead flying south, wind whispering of winter, etc. – and Bear tries again to retire to his “very quiet den”, but alas, more shenanigans! Everyone knows that when folks who need sleep don’t get it, they become cranky. And no one wants a cranky bear, do they? Owl is firm. Bear has to go to sleep. But all this messing about is taking too much time. They need to speed the story up. So the quiet soothing lyrical parts become increasingly short and abrupt, while the shenanigans continue unabated.

text copyright Brian Gehrlein 2025, illustration copyright Jennifer Harney 2025, Little, Brown BFYR

text copyright Brian Gehrlein 2025, illustration copyright Jennifer Harney 2025, Little, Brown BFYR

I am not going to tell you what happens. That would ruin the fun! You will just have to read it! 😊 But if this book doesn’t make you laugh, I’ll send an owl to your house to read you a sleepy bear book 😊 Super fun story, delightful, entertaining art – this is a great pick for every shelf! You can bet I’m going to have a copy on my shelf so I can read it to my grandkids! 😊

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 😊

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific blog links (and any other info you feel like filling out 😊) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! 😊