Product Description

The moon and back before bathtime? Whatever next! Join Baby Bear as he finds a rocket, makes friends with an owl and has a picnic on the moon! A beautiful story of innocence and imagination, full of Jill Murphy’s characteristic warmth and humour, this is the second Bear family adventure following the bestselling PEACE AT LAST.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5621 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 40 pages

About the Author

Jill Murphy's books sell in their hundreds of thousands. She is perhaps best known for her classic Worst Witch stories which she started writing when she was fifteen but she is also a hugely successful picture book author and illustrator. PEACE AT LAST (978-0-230-01548-7) was her first picture book and was commended in the 1980 Kate Greenaway Medal . She went on to win the Smarties Prize for THE LAST NOO-NOO (Walker). Jill lives in Cornwall with her son.

Customer Reviews

There is no way to hide it
I simply LOVE this beautiful book!

Baby Bear wants to go to the moon and so searches around his house until he finds just what he needs for his mission.

From the back cover:-

`The moon and back before bathtime?
Whatever next!

This is the second book about Baby Bear, who first appeared in the best-selling `Peace at Last'.
Beautifully written and illustrated with Jill Murphy's characteristic warmth and humour.
`Whatever Next!' has also become a picture book classic.'

30 shiny high quality pages in the popular 2-page spread format. Wonderfully illustrated throughout, this beautiful book is further enhanced by meaningful facial expressions.
Clear text is on the left hand page with the pictures on the right, so suitably predictable for the younger reader who is eager to turn the page!
This delightful book finishes with a suitably tired Baby Bear and his Ted, ready for bed!

The book opens with Baby Bear peeking out from behind the curtain, asking nonchalantly:-

"Can I go to the moon?" asked Baby Bear.
"No you can't," said Mrs Bear.
"It's bathtime.
Anyway, you'd have to find a rocket first."

Baby Bear found a rocket in the cupboard under the stairs.
He found a space-helmet on the draining board in the kitchen, and a pair of space-boots on the mat by the front door.
He packed his teddy and some food for the journey and took off up the chimney....
WHOOSH!
Out into the night..........'

On his journey Baby Bear meets an owl who accompanies him in his `smart rocket` ......up and up ......past the millions of stars, until they eventually land on the moon.
It is rather boring on the moon so Baby Bear, Owl and Teddy have a picnic...... but are very aware that Baby Bear's Bath must surely be ready.
So, they fly down ......and down..... Say Goodbye to Owl...... get a little damp.... and a little bit .....well.....grubby, as they return back down the chimney, landing with a bump on the living room carpet!

As Baby Bear explains his sorry state, in a matter-of- fact sort of way, Mrs Bear laughs:-

"You and your stories," she said.
Whatever next?"

A must for the book shelf
My two year old son has loved this for some time. It's a must have book. It's one to read time and time again. It also encourages role play as he loves to pretend that he is off to the moon just like baby bear.

A classic with good reason
Baby bear's rocket looks surprisingly like a cardboard box, his space-boots like wellies, his space-helmet like a colander, and so fully prepared to visit the moon, he zooms up the chimney. He befriends a passing owl and they picnic on the moon. He's pretty filthy after his travels so it's lucky that he is back for bath time. The story is wonderfully reflective of the imaginative games real children play, and the mess they get into. It's very simple with only a sentence or two per page, so perfect from it is perfect from 18 months. There's also light hearted humour, for example Mrs Bear says "look at the state of you. Why you look as if you've been up the chimney" and of course we know he has! The illustrations are lovely and used to great effect: full colour on each right-hand page, and the left hand pages have either black ink drawing on white page for inside or a striking white on a black page when Baby Bear is out adventuring in the night sky. Personally, I recommend you buy this Bear family book before Peace at Last because the story line is more original. If you have a cardboard box handy, be prepared for some space travel!