JUST LIKE YOU

While frolicking with one of his parents, a bear cub shares all his dreams. The phrase, “when I grow up, I want to be . . . ” receives several answers: “clever and funny” and “big and strong,” for starters. Through it all, the duo catches fish in a rushing stream, pads through the snow, swims in a pond, etc. In the end, nestled against the chest of the parent bear, the cub declares, “When I grow up, I want to be all the things that make me . . . me.” The bold simplicity and simple shapes of the author’s watercolor illustrations, the economy of the text and even the sturdiness and compact size of the physical book all increase access and appeal to very young pre-readers. A warm and simple starter story. A companion, No Matter What (ISBN: 978-0-525-47932-1), while not as original, offers reassurance that Momma Elephant will love her baby no matter what. (Picture book. 2-5)