Clara Ann Cookie has to go to bed, but she doesn’t want to. Mom insists. Clara shouts, “No.” She puts up a fight, but eventually finds herself alone in her room. She can’t go to sleep until her dolls and bears go to bed, so she glares at her playmates and says, “Now you all go to sleep or I’m going downstairs!” All of Clara Ann’s toys obey and go right to sleep, except for Popcorn the Teddy Bear. He refuses, so Clara Ann scolds him, making him very sad. It’s up to Clara Ann to help her bear feel better and help him go to sleep. Any child who has ever rebelled against the bedtime hour will sympathize with Clara Ann and relate to her clever way of making herself feel better through make- believe play. Fans of the first story about the plucky, stubborn Clara Ann Cookie will enjoy this rhyming tale as well.
Author
Harriet Ziefert grew up in North Bergen, New Jersey, where she attended the local schools. She graduated from Smith College, then received a Masters degree in Education from New York University. For many years, Ziefert was an elementary school teacher. She taught most grades from kindergarten to fifth grade. "I liked it," she said, but she stopped teaching when she had her own sons. When her children were older, Ziefert wanted "a bigger arena" for her work. She went to work at a publishing company, Scholastic in New York City, developing materials for teacher's guides for kindergarten language arts and social studies programs. "About twelve years ago," says Ziefert in a 1995 interview, "I tried to get a job as an editor, but no one would hire me as a trade editor. So I decided to write my own books." Since then, she has written several hundred books, mostly picture books and easy-to-read books. "I write books very quickly," she says, "in about twelve hours. I rewrite them three times over three days, and then they're done." She writes about twenty books a year.
