MORE BEARS!
by Kenn Nesbitt & illustrated by Troy Cummings
Teachers and librarians searching for sophisticated read-alouds will find much to love in this bear-saturated offering, as will parents looking for a change of pace. As an author attempts to write a story, he is continually interrupted by children's demands for "MORE BEARS!!" Initially conservative in the number of bears added, he is soon swept up in the excitement of plugging in new kinds of bears on each page. However, when the abundance of bears overwhelms the book entirely, the author casts them out and tries to write a new story. That is, until the last page of the book: "MORE CHICKENS!!" Nesbitt expertly melds his wittily monikered bears (example: Admiral Haversham, the English dancing bear, and Excellent Steve, the bear who surfs) to silly humor kids will dig. It's difficult to resist the hordes of firefighting, space-exploring, juggling, flying, conniving bears that pack these pages. Cummings adds just the right feel to the illustrations, going from simple images to crazed two-page spreads. A welcome addition to preschool and early-elementary storytimes and a surefire hit. (Picture book. 4-8)