I bought this book over two years ago, when my daughter was around 14 months and was just starting to visibly enjoy being read to. Two years later she still pulls it off the shelf sometimes and asks me to read it (usually around bedtime).

The plot is appropriately simple: Mama Owl goes out hunting for the night, and the three owl babies get progressively more worried and scared. When they have almost sunk into despair, mom comes home.

The illustrations are beautiful. Benson does an excellent job of evoking the fear of the wee owlets as they wait, and their exuberant joy upon mama's return. They are a perfect companion to Waddell's writing.

Waddell makes good use of parallelism. After a couple of readings, if you're child is verbal, expect her to be wailing "I want my mommy!" right along with you and baby Bill. Also, despite the brevity and simple vocabulary, one gets a real sense of the different personalities of the owl babies. As children's literature goes, this is a masterpiece.

Concurring with several other reviewers, I would agree that this is a great book to share with your kids if any of them suffer from separation anxiety.

This is one of those "special" books that you won't mind reading to your little one over and over again. I find that a great children's book is a lot like a great children's movie; both the parent and the child enjoy it yet at different levels. Such a tender story of a little one's fear that their parent won't come home. However, the beautiful and touching illustrations almost steal the show! You can see the worry in the little owl's eyes and hear little Bill's anxious "I want my Mommy!" My two year old daughter loves the part when it's "dark" outside because the artwork truly conveys the dark; but not in a scary way! I loved when the oldest owl, Sarah, suggests that they all sit on her limb together. My favorite illustration is when the mother owl returns and the 3 little fluffy baby owls are jumping up and down. You'll snuggle a little closer to your child when you read this one together. Just the sweetest little book you and your special one will ever read!

It's hard to say more about this wonderful book -- just wanted to add that my 23-month old has loved it for the past two months and I know this has to do with her presently intensified separation anxiety. Lovely story, artful evocative illustrations. One of my favorites to read!

This book is a fantastic read for both child and adult. We bought it when my daughter was about 1 1/2 years old and she's just fascinated by the text and pictures. We use silly voices to tell the story and have fun looking at the pictures...if you look really hard you'll see lots of tiny animals peeking down from the trees! I missed those...the one year old is more observant! A gem!

My son likes this book and it's one I don't at all mind reading again and again. Beautiful artwork, cute rhymes, cute story. Not too wordy, great for one-year-olds and up. We saw this book at a friend's house and it's also featured in the Children's book of the month club. I highly recommend it.

This is my 2 1/2 year old granddaughter's absolute favorite and has been for the last six months. She loves the rhyming text and the beautiful illustrations and recites the story as you read it - she knows all the words. The story has really captured her imagination. It's always the last story she reads at bedtime before going to sleep with her own special Pooh bear.

I have twin boys that are nine and a six year old little girl. All of my children have loved this book and so have I. It will be one that I pull out in 30 years and have such great memories of!

I cannot think of a more beautifully illustrated book than this one. The dreamy pictures of a mother-and-daughter escapade on the beach, followed by a sleepy night's end, move me every time I read it. With simple, slow-paced text, it makes for a very nice bedtime story.

This book was read to us at a local story-time. My 3 year old daughter's eyes were wide with wonderment. At the end, she yelled out "Again, please, again." Sadly, there was no time for the teacher to read it again, but I copied down the name of this wonderful book and am about to buy it. The story is perfect for mothers to read to their daughters (and sons as well) and the illustrations are beautiful. What child does not long for the sea and for the moon? The words and pictures make them come alive.

"Once there were two bears, Big Bear and Little Bear. Big Bear is the big bear and Little Bear is the little bear."

Each of these Little Bear books by Martin Waddell opens in this delightfully familiar way. My two-year-old cozies in right beside me in anticipation of the beginning of one of these books (because once you read one, you have to read them all).

In "Good Job, Little Bear", Big Bear encourages Little Bear in all his exploring and yet, when Little Bear makes a mistep, Big Bear is there to help, support, and reassure... Little Bear is able to regain his confidence with the help of Big Bear's sensitive parenting (because, even though he looks like a big bear, he really is just a very good parent).

"Good Job, Little Bear" is a book that will remain behind on my bookshelves as my son grows. In the fine tradition of books that reassure about parental love, Waddell has captured the sentiments of parents around the world. The last line of the book, "I'll be there when you need me... always" gave me a catch in my throat and, I have to admit, a tear in my eye.

This is a really good book for young kids. My 3 year old daughter loves it and laughs hysterically when Little Bear falls in the water. And it has a really sweet, comforting ending which is great right before bed. I also think it is a good length for little ones, not too wordy. I think little ones can really identify with Little Bear and the things he does in this one. Cute book!

After reading all of the little bear books, I would have to say that this is one of my two year olds favorite book. My son loves the little bear/big bear adventure stories.( Please write more) I would highly recommend this book to parents, teachers and fellow librarians.

This book was outstanding. It was one of my personal childhood favorites, and for good reason. This book is ideal for parents to read to younger children, and older, more advanced readers will be proud to be able to read it. The language used is descriptive and really sets you in the book, but isn't too hard to read for children of about 6. And if the plot doesn't quite entrance you, the illustrations are remarkable. I highly recommend it for any child!

We loved Waddell's gentle story and Barrett's lovely illustrations. One aspect of the story that we found particularly appealing was the portrayal of the overtaking of the house by nature as interesting and positive--many insects and animals come to live in the house and plants cover the walls and floors. Things get a little green and smelly, but the dolls don't mind because it's so interesting to see the changes. Children of all ages will like this tale of finding a new family to love.

The Hidden House is my favorite picture book because it is such a wonderful, magical tale. If you have ever craved a home of your own, filled with history and character, this is a story for you! The illustrations by Angela Barrett are so evocative. When I read it to my students, they always collectively sigh, once they realize the house is being loved. Read it! You'll love it!

We bought this at a used book store a week ago, and have read it at least 50 times. If you have a very imaginative child, this is a great book. The illustrations are great, different from standard picture books. The main character, Mary, creates a darling "garden" project which she magically becomes a part of and plays in. She isn't quite sure how it is all happening, but she likes it. The unexplained magic is charming, thought provoking, and just plain fun. I love the idea that some of lifes surprises have no obvious explanation. If you have a child who seems to get lost in imaginary play, I am sure they will enjoy and relate to this book. This inspired us to create our own secret garden. Great project idea. We love our Martin Waddell books, and this is no exception. Can't say enough good about this book.

My five year old son and I enjoy this book. It's a keeper! The illustrations are very different and we found them so interesting.

I purchased the book in order to do a presentation on it for my Children's Literature class. The illistrations are in fact what orinally caught my eye. I was doing stock at work and came across it and thought it was so colorful and interesting and thought, what child wouldn't be fascinated by this book. I eventually read the book and came to find that the story is great as well. I think it would encourage any child to use their imagination as well as to explore different artistic mediums other than crayons and construction paper.

I liked the story because it's a really good book and it's the best story I read. It's a really loving story. It has a very happy ending.

This is a story of unconditional love - a tiny lost kitten who needs it and a mother and daughter eager to give it.

Charlotte loves to hear her mother tell the story of how they found their kitten, named "Moonlight." As the mother recounts the tale of going to the sea's edge on a blustery winter night, children will relate to the trust they place in their parents.

Moreover, it is the tale of a mother and daughter, the love implicit in their relationship as the mother goes forward when the daughter insists that "There's something down there by the sea. I know that there is."

Luminous moonswept illustrations by Christian Birmingham, a talented young British artist, heighten the impact of this warmly reassuring tale. It's a feel-good story for all.

This is a lovely book written with delicacy and tenderness. It's a story about a story as told by a little girl and her mommy. Charlotte and her mother are taking a few moments in a quiet afternoon to tell each other their favorite story: the story of how they came to "adopt" a cold, wet, and hungry kitten late one night on a stormy beach near their house. As Charlotte and her mommy discuss how their story goes, it is told with such tender emotion that it tugs at the heartstrings. Waddell has captured the innocence and delicacy of the four year old child and the strong bond between mother and child. Paintings by Christian Birmingham are soft and painterly in muted colors that recall early impressionism and are a fine accompaniament for this story.

My five year old son and I just love this book. I found it especially nice as the mother and daughter so close--with mother nurturing and caring and daughter wanting to be like mom. Also I love that they showed the Mom nursing her baby.

My daughter loves this book. She will ask for this book a couple times a week and we have had it well over a year! A very sweet story that my 3 year old can't live without!

Rosie's Babies draws us into the 'pretend' world of the little girl Rosie and her teddy and rabbit - her 'babies', as she tries to keep her mother's attention during the bathing, feeding and putting to bed of their new baby. Both the mother and the daughter are warm, caring and nurturing and Rosie's reports of how she looks after her babies are very touching. My (then) two-year-old son loved this book as we awaited the arrival of his new baby brother, and now, a year and a half later, it's a firm favorite on the bookshelf. The 'punchline' of the story reminds us what it's really all about ' 'Don't forget me, Mommy!'

This was one of the first Martin Waddell books that we got and we still read it over and over. It shows true to life family dynamics--and beleive me it happens that you think one or the other is watching the little one in a big family!

It was Sammy's day for minding John Joe but he got bored so he ran of down Cow Lane to his friend Willie Brennan he was meant to take John Joe but he took Splinter the dog instead.Mary was very mad as it was not her day for minding John Joe.she went down to brennan's house to find Sammy but he was down at the river.Mary couldn't go because John Joe was too small so then John Joe offered to mind himself while Mary looked for Sammy.After Mary left the brennans big hen came up to John Joe and John Joe was very frightened. He called for help but no one could hear him so he ran away from the hen. he jumped up on the wall and the hen followed etc. When Mary and Sammy returned they couldn't find John Joe so Sammy sent Splinter to look for John Joe.They eventually found him asleep in the corn. All ended well and mammy said there was no way she was ever going to loose her John Joe. The story is excellently illustrated every child I have read it to enjoyed it thoroughly

This is a cute story about Big Bear and Little Bear. As they are heading home from a walk in the snow, Little Bear becomes concerned that he has heard "plodders", "drippers" and "ploppers". Big Bear points out the source of these noises, and eases Little Bear's mind. This book is cute, funny, comforting, and an easy read. It is a good bedtime length (not too long) book. I think Martin Waddell is a fantastic children's book writer, and I highly recommend this book for children up to 8 or 9.

My two year old really loves this book! We snuggle up to read this and my two yr old, holds tighter and tighter as the book progresses. The content is exciting, the illustrations are great-what more is needed? Great story!