Tell Me the Day Backwards
Albert Lamb
Illustrated by David McPhail

Candlewick Press
March 2011 / ISBN 9780763650551
Children fiction (Ages 3-6)
Amazon

Reviewed by Bob Walch

This is a charming bedtime story about a little bear who tells his mother about his very exciting day. Before saying goodnight to his mama, Timmy Bear relives his day by playing the Backwards Game.

He begins with brushing his teeth after he puts on his pajamas. He then he remembers the next event, with his mother prompting him by asking, “And do you remember what happened before that?”

Reliving the day in reverse creates some interesting tension when the reader discovers that Timmy falls into a deep pool of water and nearly drowns. How did he end up there? He was being chased by some angry bees!

The “remembering” game goes all the way back to the morning when the entire Bear Family awoke from their winter-long hibernation. But, as she tucks her little cub in, Mama Bear tells Timmy on this night they will only sleep for a single evening, not the whole winter.

A clever story with very nice illustrations, this is a picture book you may want to actually use as a model for playing a similar game with your own child. After you “tell some of your day backwards”, ask your child what he or she remembers. You might be surprised about which events stand out the most!