Mr Bear is tired but all the sounds around him are stopping him from sleeping. Join in with the story and add the different sound effects. Will Mr Bear get to sleep in the end?
Peace at Last is a children’s picture book by Jill Murphy. You can watch the National Literacy Trust reading the story below!
Four ways to explore the story:
- Join in with repeated parts of the story “Oh NO! I can’t stand THIS.”
- As Mr Bear moves to a new place, ask “What noises might keep Mr Bear awake now?”
- Use your voice to add sound effects to the story. For example, making a noise like an aeroplane or the sound of a ticking clock.
- At the end of the story, recap the different noises that kept Mr Bear awake.
What can you hear?
After you have finished the story, try these activities together:
- Play ‘I hear with my little ear’. Listen to what sounds you can hear outside in the garden or inside. Say “I hear, with my little ear, something that sounds like…” and try to copy the noise with your voice.
- Pretend to be an aeroplane. Move around and make a sound like an aeroplane, just like baby bear. Do this with different vehicles, such as a car, a train and a boat.
- Homemade musical instruments. Use recycled materials to make your own instruments. Put beads in a clean plastic bottle to make a shaker, wrap elastic bands around an empty tissue box to make a guitar or cover an empty tin can with tape to make a drum. Challenge your child to keep a steady beat with the instrument or copy your pattern, such as tapping slowly twice and then quickly three times
- Songs and rhymes. Read the story again and sing these rhymes as you go along: Hickory Dickory Dock, Round and Round the Garden, Polly Put the Kettle On.
For older children
Think about how Mr Bear will sleep the next night. Ask your child, “Will there be different sounds keeping Mr Bear awake? What might they be?”
Pretend to be Mr Bear. Retell the events of the night and then ask your child to have a turn. Ask them questions such as “How are you feeling? Why couldn’t you get to sleep?” Your child can answer as if they were Mr Bear.
Watch the video
Watch a special recording of Peace at Last filmed for our Facebook page.
