Lost your book? 'Maybe a Bear Ate it!'

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Every night before you head to bed, you gather together all the stuffed animals that sleep with you. Then it's time for Mom or Dad to read you a good bedtime story.

Most nights, you probably ask for a story you've already heard because it's hard to go to sleep without your favorite pals, your favorite blanket, and your favorite book.

But what if something is missing? Where did it go? In the new book "Maybe a Bear Ate It" by Robie H. Harris, illustrated by Michael Emberley, you'll see some possibilities that are silly and one that could really happen.

It's bedtime, and a little guy in striped jammies carries his best friends to bed. He also carries a book he loves because reading in bed is a great way to fall asleep.

So he reads.

And he reads.

And he reads.

And he stretches and yawns and...

Uh oh! His book is gone!

He looks all around the bed, but he can't find his book anywhere. He needs that book! He loves that book! He had a bear in bed with him. Could it be possible that a bear ate it? Or... there's a stegosaurus on the bed. Maybe the stego stomped on it. Did a rhino run away with his book? All sorts of things are possible when something's missing, but he can't go to sleep without his book!

He looks in the bathroom. He peeks in the laundry room. He looks in the kitchen and his mom's dresser, in bags and boxes and everywhere. Could his book -- the book he loves -- be somewhere in the belly of a bear?

Do you know a kid who constantly loses things? I'm betting so, because, when you're little, it's hard to keep track of everything. "Maybe a Bear Ate It" is a great way to show small kids that losing things happens to the best of us and that perhaps the "lost" object isn't so lost after all.

Short on words but long on adorableness, Harris' book is going to be referred to in thousands of households not long after the first reading. Backpack lost? Maybe a bear ate it. Can't find your socks? Maybe a shark swallowed them. Dad lost his keys? Surely, a stegosaurus is at fault.

But aside from the quick-to-read story and the wonderful, colorful illustrations, this book teaches kids to love books. It's obvious that the little guy in the striped jammies can't live without his book and will do anything to find it. He hugs it when he finds it, which just melted my heart. It's a subtle message, but one that children will undoubtedly pick up on.

If you've got a kid who hates to be put to bed but loves to have a bedtime story, "Maybe a Bear Ate It" is one he or she will ask for again and again. Any 3-to 6-year-old is going to eat this book up.

Terri Schlichenmeyer's book reviews appear weekly in the View. She can be reached by e-mail at bookwormsez@yahoo.com.