bookshelf

MIDDLE BEAR

Name: MIDDLE BEAR
Author: Susanna Isern
ISBN: 978-1-77138-842-9

by Susanna Isern ; illustrated by Manon Gauthier ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 3, 2017

A neatly pitched lesson for the middle child.

bookshelf

A little bear discovers the benefits of being the middle one when his medium size works to his advantage.

The “second of three brothers,” middle bear’s neither largest nor smallest, tallest nor shortest, strongest nor weakest. Even his clothes and toys are “middle-sized.” He eats and drinks middle-sized portions and goes to bed “before his older brother and after his younger.” Often sad, the middle bear does not “want to be the middle one” until the day his sick parents send their three sons on a quest to a high mountain for willow bark. Reaching a partially frozen river, the oldest brother’s too heavy and the youngest brother’s too little to cross the ice. Just the right size, the middle bear successfully traverses the river, scales the mountain, and returns with the willow bark. Repeated use of “middle-sized” emphasizes the disadvantages as well as the advantages of being a middle child. Cut-paper collage, pencil, and mixed-media illustrations rely on a subdued palette of black, gray, and tan to convey the blandness of the middle bear’s life. Drawn with childlike simplicity, the brother bears seem visually identical (except for size) and usually appear together until the middle bear happily takes center page alone, suddenly aware “he could do all sorts of things.”

A neatly pitched lesson for the middle child. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-77138-842-9

Page Count: 34

Publisher: Kids Can

Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
VERA THE ASTRONAUT
by Susanna Isern ; illustrated by Marta Moreno ; translated by Cecilia Ross

- BOOK REVIEW
PEE AND POO. THE DO’S AND DON'TS TO AVOID MISHAPS
by Susanna Isern ; illustrated by Mar Ferrero ; translated by Cecilia Ross

- BOOK REVIEW
THE GIRL WHO WORE PANTS
by Susanna Isern ; illustrated by Esther Gili ; translated by Cecilia Ross

bookshelf

LITTLE BLUE TRUCK LOST AND FOUND

From the Little Blue Truck series

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 18, 2026

Fun times, fond friends, and a festive farmyard setting—little ones will be charmed.

bookshelf

Beep! Beep! Beep! Toad and Little Blue Truck get ready for a hayride.

After the titular vehicle is loaded with hay, Toad is nowhere to be found. “Beep! Beep! Beep! Where are you, Toad?” asks Little Blue Truck. All the barnyard animals look for him. Sheep searches the meadow. Goose and Duck check the pond. Others pitch in, too, but Toad seems to have disappeared…until Hen hears snoring coming from the pile of hay in the back of Little Blue Truck. Although the text’s scansion is imperfect in places (adults may want to pre-read to ensure a smooth read-aloud), the bouncy meter and rhyming text nevertheless capture the energy of the search and the farmyard community’s concern for Toad’s safety, making this a solid storytime choice. Eye-catching illustrations with rich, fully saturated colors balance the right level of detail while still highlighting the animal that is the focus of each verse. By introducing one farm animal at a time, Schertle also helps the youngest readers begin to identify barnyard animals by name and understand their unique farm homes. Traditional animal sounds are part of the text, and listeners will add them to their vocabulary. It all ends with the promised hayride, bringing the tale to a joyous ending.

Fun times, fond friends, and a festive farmyard setting—little ones will be charmed. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2026

ISBN: 9780063436121

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: July 20, 2026

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK AND RACER RED
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK MAKES A FRIEND
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
TIME FOR SCHOOL, LITTLE BLUE TRUCK
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

bookshelf

ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

bookshelf

Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)