The delightful illustrations on over-sized pages depicting the animals’ party are the perfect accompaniment to the lyrical text. An icy blue palette illustrates the cold winter night, while the cave’s interior is rendered in warm tones of reds and browns. Stories and food carry the party until dawn and as all the other animals snuggle in to sleep, only Bear is left awake unable to recapture his slumber. The other animals comfort Bear by insisting that the party is just beginning. Sneezing awake, Bear is furious, but not because everyone is having a party in his cave, but because he has slept through it all. “And they nibble and they munch with a chew–chomp–crunch! But the bear snores on.” Nothing seems to bother Bear, at least until an errant pepper flake from the stew tickles his nose. Even when Badger passes out crunchy honey nuts and more guests begin arriving, “Bear snores on.” By the time Gopher, Mole, Wren, and Raven arrive, it’s a full-blown party. Hare arrives and they pop corn and brew tea, but even the slurping and burping doesn’t bother Bear.

Mouse arrives and builds a small fire to warm the chilly air. Rhyme is not a crime (groan) but it’s also not the best fit for every author.Snug in his cave, not even some visitors seeking shelter from the storm can wake Bear. Join a critique group with established rhymers. If rhyme feels like comfy slippers, you should pursue it. My tips for authors wanting to write rhyme is first to ask yourself, do you read a lot of rhyming books? Do you find yourself making up rhymes for your animals, your children, your day to day activities? If rhyme is a struggle, it might not be the best choice. Maybe due to a musical background (hobbyist vocalist), rhythm and rhyme come more naturally to me than many writers. Rhyme pares my word choices down, and provides me with structure that helps me move my story along. I am a rare breed that has a hard time writing straight prose. It felt SO GOOD to write what came naturally to me. I was actually on the verge of giving up writing picture books and decided my last ditch effort would be a rhyming picture book with a talking animal (GASP!). But “the rules” said NO RHYME, NO TALKING ANIMALS! So for three years I followed those rules. When I first started writing for children I avoided writing in rhyme, though I was personally quite drawn to it. Do you prefer to write in rhyme? Do you have any advice for authors looking to develop or polish their rhyming skills? I’ve read that picture book writers are told NOT to write in rhyme, yet your rhyming has been a key to your success. In part, this is due to the lovely rhythm of your writing. Your books are a staple of our story times, especially at bedtime.

Bear snores on by karma wilson