Ira Sleeps Over by Bernard Waber

Ira loves his teddy bear and he sleeps with his bear every night but now he has the dilemma of a sleepover invitation. Reggie lives next door and Reggie has made big plans for their evening but Ira's sister is the voice of doom. She tells Ira that Reggie won't approve of his bear and even worse Reggie is sure to tease or mock little Ira if he takes his precious bear to the sleep over. Luckily two things happen - mum and dad totally disagree and they tell Ira he should take his bear and then as Reggie and Ira finally snuggle down to sleep Reggie jumps up and retrieves his own teddy bear - so now little Ira has the courage or permission to jump back over the fence and grab his bear Tah Tah.

Bookseller blurb: Ira is thrilled about his first sleepover at his friend Reggie's house, until his sister makes him question taking his favorite teddy bear. Will Reggie laugh at his teddy bear? Can Ira sleep without it? A funny back-and-forth ensues in this classic picture book about staying true to yourself. A perfect read-aloud for every young reader with their own bedtime friends.

I am helping my friend sort some things in her school library. Many years ago, she set up some boxes of books to support a student welfare program. The staff no longer use this program, so we have disbanded the book boxes. Among the titles I saw this US title When Ira Sleeps Over (1972).

Listen to the podcast with Betsy Bird where they discuss this book. There certainly are some funny details in the illustrations such as the old-fashioned standard lamp; dad playing the double bass; music stands; curtain room dividers; the paintings on their walls; and dad is cooking dinner - this is the 1970s so that makes this even more curious. You might also notice the real bottle tops and the curious stamps owned by dad that the kids enjoy using in their game. Dad is clearly a classical musician - we see his double bass and at the end of the book when he opens the door for Ira we see dad holding a classical music record album. 

Even though this book is now quite old I think it is one I could share with a young child - not a group - just your own young reading companion. Bernard Waber (1921-2013) is famous for his books about Lyle Lyle the crocodile. I previously talked about his book Ask Me. You can see more of his books here. The book and CD version of this book Ira Sleeps Over is still available. 

The sequel was published in 1988. 

Here are some discussion questions

Here is my old teddy bear:

Companion book:

You could also look for this very old Australian book: