While young ones will recognize Bear’s fears and appreciate the reassuring endings, this Bear doesn’t measure up to the most...
Three stories originally published as separate 40-page readers are repackaged as one longer chapter book.
In 1996 Kirkus described the title story as “A depressing fable.” Twenty years later the toy bear’s longing for a perfect father is even less appealing, with its pat, predictable, and cloying resolution. In the second story, a “Used-Up Bear” (originally published in 1998) imagines the worst—being discarded. Other, newer stuffed animals compound his distress with predictions that his owner, a white girl named Clara, will choose one of them to replace him. In the end, Clara refurbishes Bear with a flannel “bear suit” done in a red that is rather jarring against the simple line-and-watercolor art of pastel blues, lilacs, and yellows that predominate. In “Lonesome Bear” (2001), this rather insecure stuffed animal panics when he wakes up and sees that Clara is gone. As he searches for her he meets a rabbit who helps him make “Lost Girl” posters and a cat who tries to convince both of them that being on your own is really better. Predictably, Clara has also been searching for Bear and brings him, along with the rabbit and the cat, home to a cozy dinner.
While young ones will recognize Bear’s fears and appreciate the reassuring endings, this Bear doesn’t measure up to the most famous of anxiety-ridden bears. Winnie the Pooh is still a better choice for independent readers. (Fantasy. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 24, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-63322-370-7
Page Count: 131
Publisher: Seagrass/Quarto
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2017
A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends
Gerald the elephant learns a truth familiar to every preschooler—heck, every human: “Waiting is not easy!”
When Piggie cartwheels up to Gerald announcing that she has a surprise for him, Gerald is less than pleased to learn that the “surprise is a surprise.” Gerald pumps Piggie for information (it’s big, it’s pretty, and they can share it), but Piggie holds fast on this basic principle: Gerald will have to wait. Gerald lets out an almighty “GROAN!” Variations on this basic exchange occur throughout the day; Gerald pleads, Piggie insists they must wait; Gerald groans. As the day turns to twilight (signaled by the backgrounds that darken from mauve to gray to charcoal), Gerald gets grumpy. “WE HAVE WASTED THE WHOLE DAY!…And for WHAT!?” Piggie then gestures up to the Milky Way, which an awed Gerald acknowledges “was worth the wait.” Willems relies even more than usual on the slightest of changes in posture, layout and typography, as two waiting figures can’t help but be pretty static. At one point, Piggie assumes the lotus position, infuriating Gerald. Most amusingly, Gerald’s elephantine groans assume weighty physicality in spread-filling speech bubbles that knock Piggie to the ground. And the spectacular, photo-collaged images of the Milky Way that dwarf the two friends makes it clear that it was indeed worth the wait.
A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends . (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-9957-1
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2014
Models attention to detail and deductive reasoning in a fun beach setting, complete with interesting facts.
Beachcombers and shell seekers, gather ’round and meet Shelby and Watts, Planetary Investigators.
When Fred the hermit crab can’t find a new, larger shell to move into, he seeks out the “brilliant brains” of Shelby and Watts. Shelby, a fox, is the detective in the duo, and Watts, a badger, loves facts, adding simple fun ones—about hermit crabs, tides, tide-pool dwellers, how shells are used, etc.—throughout the story. Watts also loves to catalog clues in his notebook. In fact, the first mystery that Shelby solves is that of Watts’ lost notebook. Young readers can watch Shelby investigate, solve, and explain her deductive process, all while learning to carefully examine all the details in each graphic panel. Once the missing shells are found, it’s “time for the hermit crab shuffle,” in which the members of a colony of hermit crabs all line up and trade up to larger homes. Final pages include “Earth-Saving Tips from Shelby & Watts,” such as taking pictures of shells instead of collecting them, eating seafood from sustainable sources, and cleaning up the beach. The seven chapters are of varying length, but with several one-panel pages and many pages with low word count, the book is shorter than it appears, which should be a confidence boost for young readers. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Models attention to detail and deductive reasoning in a fun beach setting, complete with interesting facts. (Graphic early reader/mystery. 6-9)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-20531-0
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
