Author, Nancy White Carlstrom and illustrators Leo and Diane Dillon have combined their talents to create a truly beautiful bedtime story for the young child. Nancy White Carlstrom whose family moved to Alaska wanted to create a book that was reflective of the flora, fauna and traditions she found there.

Included in her lovely poem are both animate and inanimate items as mountains, rivers, trees stars, moon, moose, wolves, bears, foxes, and mice brought to life as members of the family, grandmothers, grandfathers, uncles, aunts, cousins, sisters, brothers, mothers and fathers. The book supplies a profound and visual picture of our inter-connection with nature and each other that are frequently found in Native American folk tales.

The Dillons are well reputed children's illustrators who specialize in illustrating stories which fairly represent many different cultures. Their illustrations in this book are outstanding and really I would love to have some of them framed. This book as other outstanding children's book could serve as a coffee table book for adults to leaf through and drool over.

The book is for children though and it provides a wonderful warm feeling for children as they nestle into their bed on a cold winter's night or even in the summer. How special it is for children to know they are loved by many different family members as they fall asleep.

A good read-aloud story to introduce Alaskan wildlife and the changing of the season. The raven illustrations truly represent this magnificent bird.

This is a beautifully written story, complete with it's own song and music, about a little otter who strays from his mother, and how she calls him home with song. A soothing, delightful bedtime story.

I was amazed when this birthday present for my boys (aged 2 years old) was such a satisfying book to read! They love it and so do I. The words invite a dynamic reading: quiet, loud, fast, slow, while telling the simple story of a visit to the neighboring farm where Wyatt, the children's best friend, lives. The way to Wyatt's house is full of doors sighing shut, leaves crunching underfoot, logs to climb over, beetles scurrying. At Wyatt's house they "jump out of quiet into LOUD!" as the farm animals greet them, each in its own special way.

The book focuses on sounds (my kids call it the "crunch book") while telling the story of a sweet friendship. The poetic text is pleasing to hear but not too hard for young kids to understand. This is the kind of book I imagine will fuel my kids' love of reading.

The best Halloween book for little ones out there! Carlstrom does a fantastic job of capturing the excitement, delight, and apprehension that Halloween brings to small people. Jesse, Papa and Grandma visit the pumpkin patch and carve a pumpkin, which is great fun. But turn out the lights and light the jack o'lantern, and it's a little bit scary. For his costume, Jesse finds the perfect mask -- then scares himself silly when he puts it on and looks in the mirror. Trick or treating sounds good in theory, but where did all these other spooky folks come from? If you have a little person who's both delighted and terrified by Halloween, this is the perfect book for you. If not, buy it just for the rollicking rhyme and gorgeous illustrations. A must-have for all toddler households.

My 2 1/2 year old son should be the reviewer of this book. He has requested it from the library at least 4 times and he loves to read it to himself. It's got a great rhythm, and wonderful pictures of lots of different animals. "Would you dip with the otter? Dippidah dippidah!"

Where is Christmas Jesse Bear? Join Jesse and his bear family as they explore the sights, sounds, smells, activities and feelings that make this time of the year so wonderful. Is it the beautiful prickly tree or the ornaments and lights? Is it the aroma of cookies baking and spicey apple cider? Is it the music we hear, the wrapping of presents, the glow of candles or the falling snow? Jesse Bear finds out it's all these things and much, much more...most importantly, that warm feeling in your heart that comes from celebrating with family and friends. Nancy White Carlstrom's newest Jesse Bear book really captures the spirit of the season with this warm, gentle, rhyming story, as we watch Jesse and his family get ready to celebrate Christmas together. Her text is beautifully complimented by Bruce Degen's expressive, colorful, detailed illustrations and together they bring pre-schoolers the holiday message of peace on earth and joy to the world.

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This book is one of the most gentle, tranquil midwinter's tales you could ever read.

It's the middle of winter. It's cold and dark outside. Who wants to get out of bed? None of us do, least of all Mr Sun.

The snow is thick on the ground and the stars twinkle in the sky. Two wisps of smoke swirl skywards from the cottage chimney.

The story line from Nancy White Carlstrom is almost poetic. Take these lines as an example.

"the house snores peacefully under the blanket, of new snow".

"snow, shining, silvery the moon, the moon - get the sun out of bed"

The illustrations are perfect. We get views of this little world from all perspectives. From an aerial scene we see animal footprints leading to the door. A subtle humour pervades the illustrations. The quirky Alaskan origins of the story shine through.

We get a view from space. We see the large cratered moon in his last quarter. We see planet earth sleeping below, with the chimney smoke on the horizon. There is Mr Sun still asleep in his Four Poster bed under the covers.

Now we are taken inside the cottage and we see the warm glow of the fire and the hissing kettle.

Curled up in her basket beside the fire is the most beautiful, black rabbit. This bunny called Midnight is the little boy Nicholas' pet. Nicholas is fast asleep in a Four Poster bed just like Mr Sun's.

We are all asked to solve the riddle of who does wake up Mr Sun? One guess is that it was Mr Moon, for it was the moon "who nudged awake Midnight". It was Midnight who nuzzled Nicholas awake, and together they both stood at the window and greeted the dawn.

There is only one minor criticism of the book. It shows the sun rising while the moon is setting. This only happens around when the moon is full, yet in this book the moon is only a quarter full.

In summary this is a fabulous book. Lobby the publishers and get it back into print. The best editions are printed in Italy where it seems some of the classier children's books get printed. The vivacity and warmth of the colours is a trademark of Italian printeries.

I found out about this book looking for other books by the same illustrator, Bruce Degen (author of Jamberry). Once again he has created a lush, richly illustrated book that makes the reader smile. The unexpected treasure was the wonderful text by author Carlstrom. The words dance off of your toungue as you read this book out-loud. My 4 year old was giggling repeatedly. I'm adding the Jesse Bear book series to my children's bookshelves.

My three-year-old and I love these rhymes and the wonderful illustrations! In the illustrations, there is much for preschoolers to note and discuss (e.g., mom's frown as Jesse spills pudding).

I appreciate the sentiment in many of the poems. In particular, the poem called "Hurry, Jesse" captures the interaction between a working parent and a preschool child perfectly, from the mother encouraging the child to hurry, to the child asking for more time to play, to the mom realizing that unhurried time for the child is probably more important that the task she is rushing off to complete.

This book has about 12 short rhymes. Each has short lines which help to keep young ones attention. It opens with Jesse Bear waking up Mom and Dad and ends with bed time. It traces the busy, imaginative day of an active child. My three year old girl loves each page.

A little girl takes almost everything she owns with her to Grandma's house. "An owl that hoots and a horn that toots, maybe one puzzle will do." She brings almost everything imaginable. At the end, she realizes that even the moon came with her to Grandma's house.

The story lets kids know how fun it can be to go to Grandma's house, and how comforting it is to see the moon, just as she sees it at her own house.

The illustrations are fun, showing Mom's car packed with "stuff" that the little girl has to bring to Grandma's.

When a little girl learns that she is going on a trip to visit her Grandmother, she gathers everything that she loves and packs the car full. Some of her prized possessions consist of a a tattered ragdoll, a fishing rod, a ball and bat, and "hats! hats! I'll need two or three!". When she arrives at her Grandmothers, she remarks "Grandma,look up! The moon came too!" This little girl will appeal to many young readers and listeners because of her many interests. She is a high-energy individual, yet quietly reads her favorite books with a flashlight in the car. She is a little tom-boy who fishes and gets muddy, yet likes to dress up in a girly bonnet. Some of her companions are her pet cat and her stuffed bunny doll - and of course, she adores her Grandma! The "Moon Came Too" is a cleverly written story and has an enjoyable rhyme and rhythm!