BEAR NOEL

On Christmas Eve, the one night of the year that all the animals can gather together without fear, the creatures of the north woods await the arrival of Bear Noel. The cumulative tale begins with this singular figure, dressed in shearling and burdened under a huge, heavy brown sack journeying through the “deep white drifts” to bring Christmas to all the animals. First to notice is Hare, who whispers, “ ‘He is coming.’ ” “ ‘Who is coming?’ Wolf asks. ‘Bear Noel!’ Hare cries.” “In the distance they hear the thump of heavy footfalls in the forest.” Then Fox, Boar, Hedgehog, Owl, Mole, and Possum assemble to the repetitive refrain, “He is singing. . . . He is laughing. . . . He is jingling his bells. . . . He is coming.” Dunrea (The Boy Who Loved to Draw, 1999, etc.) moves from his signature folk-art technique to a more realistic style appropriate to the shimmering quality of the story. Using a wide canvas of double-paged spreads, he creates a high horizon by leaving spacious swathes of rough watercolor paper empty of paint, depicting the deep snow on the forest floor. The evening sky is radiantly accomplished in rich shades of navy; woods of dark green firs and gray birches provide an exquisite backdrop for a winter snowfall created by spattering tiny drops of white gouache. The forest animals are each lovingly and realistically portrayed. The attention to detail is remarkable, from the tiny hairs on Bear Noel’s ears to the bark of birch trees. In the end, his work completed, Bear Noel turns his back to the reader and climbs a hill. He stands in the distance, dwarfed by enormous boulders and leaves only his paw prints in the snow. Satisfying to the last wordless page. (Picture book. 4-8)