One Saturday Evening by Barbara Baker, Kate Duke (Illustrator)

Product Details

From the Publisher

Barbara Baker's big, boisterous family of bears is back in a new easy-to-read book about a special time: evening. The busy Saturday has made the two big bears and the four children tired. Or maybe not. In six chapters—one for each family member—they have quite a time of it as everyone gets ready for bed. Warm, simple text and cozy pictures show how much fun it is to be yourself and be part of a big family.

Children's Literature

Following the quiet precedent of the much-loved One Saturday Morning by the same team, this recounting of the high energy antics of Lily, Daisy, Rose, and baby Jack as they try to wind down and go to sleep will please adults as well as young emerging readers. Six stories in a typical easy-reader format (large print well spaced on the page) tell of the efforts of made by each bear in this large family to enjoy Saturday evening to the fullest. Mother treats herself to a quiet bath. Lily wants to take a bath all by herself instead of with her sister. Wild Rose and Daisy share a bath and then rambunctiously descend on Papa while he's trying to settle Jack to sleep. After much mayhem and many bedtime delays, Jack, ever the insistent toddler, demands "Up!" even when left in his crib. He escapes and eventually falls asleep underneath it. When every other little bear is quiet and asleep, what Mama and Papa do will warm readers' heart—they read a book and begin to write one of their own. Even just this one-book encounter with this loving and lively family will leave warm and comfortable memories for readers young and old alike. Reviewer: Gwynne Spencer

Kirkus Reviews

Following the logical progression after One Saturday Morning (1994), Baker and Duke create another collection of related chapters about the bear family, this time about their nightly routines. Each chapter is about one family member, starting with Mama and her Saturday evening bath and ending with Papa quietly reading his book. In between are little bears in the tub, on a lap and playing going-to-bed games. Short, declarative sentences, with plenty of repetitive phrases nestled into ample white space, recall the feel of the Little Bear books. Lively bears bound out of the illustration frames, and tired bears collapse on Mama and Papa's shoulders, making this bear family seem human. Deft touches-like the face that baby Jack makes at being left in his crib or the circular portraits of the family member at the beginning of each chapter-make this a bedtime treat for parents and new readers alike. (Early reader. 5-8)