Back to School: Bear's Big Day by Salina Yoon

IT WAS BEAR'S BIG DAY.

"I CAN CUT MY PANCAKES ALL BY MYSELF," SAID BEAR. "I'M A BIG BEAR NOW."

Bear is getting ready for his first day of school and feeling very grown up, as he packs his school bag, a brand-new brown one with a bear's face on the flap pocket, with supplies--crayons, glue, and his own lunch box--each in its own proper place.

He looks at his plushie pal, Floppy, waiting quietly on his bureau.

Bear is a big bear now, so he places Floppy by the window to watch for him when he returns.

"YOU NEED TO STAY HOME," HE SAYS. "BIG BEARS GO TO SCHOOL."

But at school Bear doesn't feel so big. Something seems to be missing. His teacher, Miss Fox, is welcoming. His classmates, Panda, Sheep, and Deer, are nice, but Bear notices that some of them have brought their own fluffy friends with them for the day, which only makes Bear miss Floppy more. He can't get into crafts or snack time, and is the only one who can't even close his eyes during rest time. Somehow he thought school was going to be more fun that it is so far.

But Miss Fox notices something is amiss with Bear, and she guesses he is feeling especially alone.

"BEING BIG DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING BY YOURSELF," SHE SAYS.

Miss Fox gets some art supplies together and soon she has Bear working on a special surprise to take home for Floppy, and Bear's sad feelings go away.

It's a big day for Bear after all, in Salina Yoon's third story about Bear and Floppy, Bear's Big Day (Bloomsbury Press, 2016). Yoon's empathetic storytelling will draw young readers, all too aware that their big day is upcoming, into her story from the beginning, and her trademark illustrations, solid, flat figures delineated by thick black lines, give a certain weight to her story about a weighty matter, being big enough for the first day of school. Bear's backward look at Floppy in his window as he heads off to the bus speaks volumes about this big transition in the life of a child, and kids will be happy to see Bear heading off for his second day of school with Floppy on board.

Other acclaimed books in this series are Found and Stormy Night both dealing sensitively with anxiety-producing preschool situations. Salina Yoon is also the author-illustrator of the best-selling Penguin books, such as Penguin on Vacation. (see reviews here).

High Crime and Misdemeanor: The Bear Ate Your Sandwich by Julia Sarcone-Roach

By now I think you know what happened to your sandwich.

But you may not know how it happened.


It seems a black bear woke up from a long sleep, and being rather hungry, he let his nose lead him to the loadbed of a truck. Inside were flats and baskets of delicious berries. So he ate them... or most of them.

And then he lay down right there and fell asleep.

The next thing he knew, he was in a different forest, one with tall concrete and brick cliffs. There were lots of things to climb, and the tall trees with lights on top were good for back-scratching. Someone had left big metal baskets around with all kinds of tasty treats inside.

But the bear sniffed leafy smells, and he followed the scent to a place with interesting objects to explore. Some of them could swing back and forth. Some went around and around. And on one the bear learned to slide down very fast. It was fun, but then he smelled something delicious. The smell was coming from a park bench where there was a lunchbox.

There it was.

Your beautiful and delicious sandwich. All alone.

The bear made his move.

It was such a great sandwich.

But then the bear heard a sniff and a slobbery sound behind him and decided it was time to head back to the other forest.

Blame it on the Bear?

But that's not the whole story. In fact, it's not even the story at all, as the reader learns, in Julia Sarcone-Roach's The Bear Ate Your Sandwich (Alfred A. Knopf, 2015). Author Sarcone-Roach saves the best for last, a small shaggy dog whose big fabrication becomes obvious as he tells his tale to his young mistress.

I saw it all. I tried to save your sandwich. I was able to save this little bit of lettuce here. The bear dropped it as he ran off.

I'm sorry to tell you about your sandwich this way....But now you know....

And so do we all in this doggone tall tale, one that spins out a lengthy face-saving fib for a little dog who is not going to be hungry for quite a while. But with her charming illustrations of town and country, bear and pooch, Sarcone-Roach will leave her readers chuckling and satisfied--except maybe with a sudden craving for a really good sandwich.

"Young readers and listeners will laugh out loud as they closely examine the pictures and find the jokes in this highly interactive urban adventure," says Kirkus.

No Place Like Home: The Bear and the Piano by David Litchfield

One day in the forest, a young bear cub found something he'd never seen before.

What could this strange thing be? he thought. Shyly, he touched it with his stubby paws.

The strange thing made an awful sound.

But curiosity and a strange fascination with the thing brings the bear back over and over. An old-fashioned upright piano stands draped in creeping vines in a clearing in the forest, lit by beams of sunlight like theater lights. The old piano brings him back again the next day, and the day after that. And as he grows older and bigger, the sounds he gets from the strange object make him happy.

The sounds took him away from the forest, and he dreamed of strange and wonderful lands.

All the bears of the forest begin to gather daily for Bear's concerts and they stand transfixed.

Then one day a man and his daughter stumble across one of Bear's performances and invite him to come to the city to play for people and hear wondrous music...

"... sounds so beautiful thy will make your fur stand on end."

Sad to leave his friends but intrigued by the attraction of more wonderful music, Bear follows the two across the river to the big city...

And before long...... the bear's name was up in big, bright lights in the big, bright city.

Bear is the sensation of the season. In black tie and tails, he plays his music on sonorous grand pianos with such style and feeling that he fills ornate theaters with enthralled music lovers shouting BRAVO!

Bear is lionized! He receives awards. His recordings go platinum. He is a musical media darling. The big city is more wonderful than he imagined.

But one night after enjoying standing ovations, he sits on the roof of his apartment, his evening-slippered feet dangling, his bow tie untied, and he sees the moon, the same moon he watched back home. And he longs for his old favorite places and friends.

So back he goes, eager to share his story with his first fans. But when he reaches the clearing, the piano is... gone. Have his friends forgotten him? Have they forgotten his music?

But not to worry. A bear appears and leads him to a sight that makes his fur stand up all over again.

Under a spreading tree is a veritable shrine, with The Piano, surrounded by his recordings, clippings, albums, and even a Bear tee-shirt hanging from the tree's lower branches.

And Bear sits right down at the old upright and plays again for his first and best audience, in David Litchfield's delightful book, The Bear and the Piano (Houghton Mifflin Clarion Books 2016), forthcoming in its new American edition. Celebrated by reviewers of the earlier British edition, Litchfield's beguiling bear tale celebrates the power of music and the pull of friendship in equal measure, in carefully chosen phrases that let his gloriously textured illustrations, done in traditional media "assembled" digitally in delicious full-bleed spreads, to tell the story artistically, as it should be told. Bear as the artist goes forth to share his gifts and returns to his home to replenish the roots of his artistry, and that is, as poet Robert Frost says in another genre, "good both going and coming back."

"Let's Call the Whole Thing Off!" I Love You Already by Jory John

"AH!" SAID BEAR. "I REALLY LOVE SPENDING LAZY WEEKEND MORNINGS AROUND THE HOUSE, SPENDING A PLEASANT DAY BY MYSELF."

And Bear is up for it. In his well-worn bathrobe, a cup of steaming tea beside him, he settles down in his easy chair with his newspaper and a stack of books he's been waiting to read. Perfect!

But his buddy Duck has other plans for the morning. His idea of a great morning is to take a stroll with his friend Bear, just like in his new book 101 Walks to Take with Bears, and he hustles over to Bear's house, his feathers all a-flutter, and bangs on the door, demanding Bear come along.

I CAN TELL YOU MY LIFE STORY! YOU CAN TELL ME YOURS!"

"NO. AND NO!" SAYS BEAR.

But Duck won't take no for an answer, so Bear reluctantly plods along beside him, disgruntled and silent, as Duck babbles on about the clouds. Duck renews his offer to tell his life story.

"YOU ALREADY SAID THAT!" BEAR POINTS OUT.

Duck insists that if they share their life stories, they will be better friends. Bear counters that they are already friends. Duck suggests that teaching him juggling or sharing a swim across the lake would make them closer.

Bear insists that he already likes Duck just fine, but Duck renews his efforts to please, showing off and finally falling out of a tree, only to get the response he's been trying for all along.

"YOU'RE MY BEST FRIEND, DUCK!" CRIES BEAR.

It's the perennial story of a pair of unlikely friends who nonetheless really care for each other, in Jory John's newest, I Love You Already! (HarperCollins, 2015). Artist Benji Davis portrays the laconic introvert Bear and the frenetic extrovert Duck as the odd couple perfectly, with body language and facial expressions that practically tell the story. "The perfect way to say I love you all year round," says Children's Book Council.

Pair this not-exactly Valentine's Day friendship story with John's and Davis' first joint venture, Goodnight Already! (see review here).

Bear and Bunny by Daniel Pinkwater

THE BEAR IS SURE THE BUNNY IS A VERY SMALL BEAR. THE BUNNY IS SURE THE BEAR IS A VERY LARGE BUNNY.

THIS IS NOT SO, BUT IT WOULD BE TOO HARD TO EXPLAIN IT TO THEM. BESIDES, IT DOESN'T MATTER.

Titles and taxonomies are not important between true friends, and besides, the two are on what that other unlikely pair, Pooh and Piglet, called an "expotition."
They are wandering.

Wandering in the woods the bear finds an exceptional pine cone. A discussion around what to do with such a prize ensues, in which the bunny is led to ask an even more pertinent question.

"WHY DON'T WE HAVE SOME KIND OF PET?"

"WHAT IS A PET?" THE BEAR ASKS.

The bunny offers the information that a pet is an animal you take care of and that loves you. Puzzled, the bear replies that they are animals and they love each other. The bunny ponders his definition and points out that pets are small and not as clever as they are. Pine cones are smaller, yes, and certainly not at all clever, but they are definitely not animals. With that out of the way, pine cones are out of the question as a pet. A caterpillar is an animal, but since it finds its own leafy food, it doesn't need them to take care of it.

"DON'T GET ME WRONG," SAID THE BEAR, BUT I DON'T SEE THAT A CATERPILLAR WOULD BE MUCH FUN.

TOO MUCH THINKING. I NEED A NAP."

Luckily, following a restorative nap, they spot a frog, which they identify as a "kitty." But that brings up the pertinent question of what it eats.

"STRAWBERRIES, I THINK. IF IT DOESN'T WANT TO, WE CAN TRY OTHER THINGS," THE BUNNY CONCLUDES.

That sounds like a sensible plan, as the bunny and the "kitty" ride home on the bear's broad back, in this sequel to his notable Bear in Love, Daniel Pinkwater's newest picture book, Bear and Bunny (Candlewick Press, 2015).

Pinkwater does droll with the best of the buddy stories authors--A. A. Milne and the pals in the Hundred Acre Wood and Arnold Lobel and his Frog and Toad, and Pinkwater's goodhearted friends are a breath of fresh air, giving youngsters a chance to chuckle knowingly as they enjoy the pair naively thinking their way through life's novelties. Artist Will Hellenbrand is back to add his charming illustrations, done with a light line and soft pastel palette, which extend the story visually with elan. Wry, whimsical, and sweet, these stories deal simply but sagely with the serious question of what it means to be a friend and to care for each other--and, in this case, another. A truly satisfying read for the preschool and primary reader.

Bringing Up Gosling! Mother Goose Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins

Bruce is a recluse.

Bruce is a grouch.

HE DID NOT LIKE SUNNY DAYS.

HE DID NOT LIKE CUTE LITTLE ANIMALS.

BRUCE ONLY LIKED ONE THING--EGGS.

You might say Bruce is a bird watcher. He watches all the birds in the forest, watching for an opportunity to "borrow" their eggs, openly robbing their nests for the delicacies he concocts with his collection of egg recipes borrowed from the internet. One day he comes across an enticing dish, featuring hard-boiled eggs in honey sauce over salmon.

Bruce pulls out his personal shopping cart and sets out to collect the ingredients. He catches some fresh salmon and then relieves the bees of some of their honey.

(HE LIKED TO SUPPORT LOCAL BEES, YOU SEE.)

That only leaves the main attraction--eggs. Luckily, Mrs. Goose has a nice clutch going.

"ARE THESE FREE-RANGE ORGANIC?" HE ASKED.

Back home, Bruce puts the goose eggs in a saucepan to cook, but when he returns with firewood to stoke the stove, he finds four just-hatched goslings standing in a footbath of warm water in the pot.

Now we all know what young birds do when they hatch! Yes! They imprint on the first moving thing they see, and that's ... Mother Goose Bruce!

"MAMA?"

Bruce is nonplussed. He grabs up his gaggle of goslings and heads back to Mrs. Goose's nest to return the defective merchandise. He finds only a sign:

[BE BACK IN APRIL!]

That's not good news. Bruce has got the baby goose blues! They follow him everywhere, despite his stern orders to shoo!

"I'M NOT YOUR MOTHER!"

Perhaps he can induce the geese to migrate. He rigs a slingshot between two saplings to shoot them into a southerly route. No luck. He buys them little single-engine model planes and tries to send them off into the wild blue yonder. They circle back, honking "MAMA!" and wearing warm mufflers and knit caps, all set to winter over with Mother Bruce.

Like it or not, Mother Goose Bruce is stuck raising his little flock. Wearing water wings and swim fins, he dutifully supervises first swimming lessons in their little plastic pool. He books a motel on the beach in Miami, hoping that they'll get the urge to stay south. He suffers through all the usual parental stages:

ANNOYING BABY GEESE.

STUBBORN TEENAGE GEESE.

BORING ADULT GEESE.

It's an unusual blended family, all right, in Ryan T. Higgins hilarious hit, Mother Bruce (Hyperion Books, 2015). Newbie author-illustrator Higgins hits all the marks in this, his first book. His wry and ironic text is pitch perfect in its sly but loving spoof of parenting, and his illustrations are both lovely and comic, opening with a charming woodsy scene reminiscent of Disney's Snow White's forest and beguiling goslings that are kissing-cousin likenesses of Olivier Dunrea's Gossie (Gossie & Friends), and still providing laugh-out loud scenes--game goslings in flight helmets in little open-cockpit airplanes, his "stubborn teenage geese" slouching about with earphones, and Bruce and one grown gosling, stretched out in beach chairs with sunglasses and iced drinks with little umbrellas, while another is followed out of the ocean by a tiny sea turtle, ironically piping "Mama?"

Kids and grownups alike will find a lot to like together in this one, a great family read-aloud. "Visually beautiful, clever, edgy and very funny," says Kirkus' starred review.

Things That Go Bump In The Night: Milk and Cookies by Frank Asch.

Little Bear's family visit to Grandpa and Grandma Bear happily turns into an impromptu sleepover. Grandpa offers a bedtime snack of milk and cookies, but Little Bear sleepily turns it down and toddles off to the sofa-bed to sleep with his parents.

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT BABY BEAR HEARD A NOISE. THEN HE SAW A RED LIGHT COMING FROM UNDER THE CELLAR DOOR.

HE PEEKED THROUGH THE KEYHOLE. WHAT HE SAW WAS LIKE A GIANT DRAGON WITH FLAMES SHOOTING FROM ITS MOUTH.

WHEN THE DRAGON SHUT ITS MOUTH, GRANDPA CAME UP.

Bewildered, Baby Bear hurries back to bed, but then he dreams the dragon comes upstairs, hungry!

Thinking fast, Baby Bear offers the dragon milk and cookies. Dragon eats them all, leaving not a one for him.

Baby Bear wakes up crying, and he tells Mama and Papa Bear what happened in his dream.

"WHATEVER GAVE YOU THE IDEA THERE WAS A DRAGON IN THE CELLAR?" ASKED PAPA.

And when Baby Bear recites what he saw through the keyhole, Papa Bear smiles and takes him downstairs for a closer look at Grandpa's furnace. Baby Bear understands, but he's still a little taken aback by his dream. What will wash away the traces of that disturbing dream?

Well, Grandpa and Grandma Bear come downstairs and they all share in a late night feast of... (what else?) Milk and Cookies (A Frank Asch Bear Book) (Aladdin Books, 2015). In a brand-new package, a new edition of this beloved Baby Bear book is a sweet treat for preschoolers to enjoy just as their parents did. Pair this one with what may be Asch's best Bear Book, in which Baby Bear outwits Papa in a tasty game of creative imagination,Sand Cake (A Frank Asch Bear Book).

Afternoon Angling: Bear and Hare Go Fishing by Emily Gravett

BEAR AND HARE ARE GOING FISHING.
BEAR LOVES FISHING.

Hare? Maybe not so much, as he gives a can of wiggly worms a fishy look.

But Bear presents him with a fitting fishing hat, complete with the traditionally fashionable fishing flies around the crown. There is only one rod, which Bear gaily shoulders and sets of with his fish line trailing right off the page.

Hare, however, is left to schlep the rest of the gear--a net, tackle box, and the picnic basket.

Finally Bear reaches his favorite bank of the lake and rares back for a big cast, hooking Hare's hat on the backlash. Not a fortuitous way to start a fishing expedition.

And Bear's luck is all bad. He snags an indignant frog. Hare busies himself by arranging the gear on the grass and laying out their repast, including a large pink-frosted cake. Now he's bored.

But not for long. Bear hooks something big that bends his rod way down. With an impressive yank, Bear hauls up his catch--a roller skate which lands--right in the mddle of Hare's pink cake.

Things are not going swimmingly. Bear grows bored and begins to nod off. Hare fiddles with some flowers, and tentatively begins a daisy chain to pass the time. Bear dozes off, and Hare's chain grows longer and longer, trailing right into the pond....

And when a giant goldfish decides to sample the dangling daisies, Bear's fishing fortunes change with a splash-bang in Emily Gravett's Bear & Hare Go Fishing (Simon and Schuster, 2015). Gravett wryly portrays the differences in personality in this odd couple of friends and slyly foreshadows the sudden BIG catch in charming illustrations which will draw young readers back to earlier pages for further close examination.

The illustrator's shaggy Bear closely resembles her character in her earlier hit, Orange Pear Apple Bear (Classic Board Books) and bears a beary close resemblance to Bonnie Becker's grumpy bear in A Visitor for Bear (Bear and Mouse), another story of unlikely friendship, with a nod to Lobel's classic couple of friends, in Frog and Toad Are Friends. Gravett's illustrator honors include Britain's Kate Greenaway Prize, the parallel of our Caldecott Award, for her flat-out funny Wolves. Even the copyright page shows off Gravett's creative chops, with the publishing information in very fine print forming the line trailing from Bear's fishing rod.

Emily Gravett is an extraordinarily gifted author-illustrator, and Bear and Hare are a pair made in storybook heaven!

Says School Library Journal, "... Surprisingly simple at first glance, this title is filled to the gills with charm and cleverness."

Beary Contrary! Not This Bear: A First Day of School Story by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

IT WAS BEAR'S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. MAMA GAVE BEAR AN EXTRA HUG AND AN EXTRA KISS.

"HAVE FUN, BEAR. ALL THE BEARS LOVE SCHOOL!"

"NOT THIS BEAR," SAID BEAR.

Bear is not filled with the power of positive thinking. He is sure he'd have more fun at home with Mama.

His perky teacher sees him looking at the art easels and suggests that he hang his jacket in his cubby and try some painting.

"PUT ON A SMOCK LIKE THE OTHER BEARS," SAID MRS. BROWN.

"NOT THIS BEAR!" SAID BEAR.

Bear insists on holding on to his jacket while he paints, and soon it is time for story circle. Mrs. Brown suggests that all the bears like to choose a mat to sit upon. Bear is NOT one of those bears. He prefers a lap for listening to stories. But there is no lap available, so Bear picks a plush toy instead and lets the furry bunny sit on his lap as Mrs. Brown reads a very good story.

At snack time, Bear is NOT one of those bears who like school snacks. But he does like to pass out the napkins. Then it's playtime outside.

"ALL THE BEARS LOVE TO SWING AND SLIDE," SAID MRS. BROWN.

"NOT THIS BEAR," SAID BEAR.

"NOT THIS BEAR EITHER!" SAID ANOTHER BEAR.

But before Mrs. Brown can get too fussed over her very contrary little bear boys, they are busy drawing with sidewalk chalk and careening around and around on the trikes.

It's a good first day of school with a compatible friend, in Alyssa Satin Capucilli's Not This Bear: A First Day of School Story (Henry Holt and Company, 2015), especially with charming illustrations by Lorna Hussey, who catches our contrary bear's first-day fears about school in his telling body language. Lots of little "bears" share contrariness on the first day of school, and this book offers a bit of vicarious experience at being a rookie scholar.

Oh, The Places They'll Go! Where Bear? by Sophy Henn

THERE WAS ONCE A BEAR CUB WHO LIVED WITH A LITTLE BOY.

BUT OVER TIME, THE BEAR CUB GREW...

AND DID THINGS THAT BEARS DO....

A chubby little cubbie fits into a human house, but a full-grown bear can be a problem. He eats all the food in the fridge. He swamps the fish pond. He even growls scarily when he's angry, The boy takes stock of Bear. He's obviously outgrown the house.

"I THINK IT'S TIME WE FIND A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN BE BIG AND BEARISH.

BUT WHERE, BEAR?"

People love bears in circuses. But Bear doesn't love the circus.

The toy shop? The woods? The zoo? The jungle? A cave?

"NO!"

So... WHERE?

While they're thinking, the boy and Bear share a popsicle. Bear loves it! And the boy suddenly knows just where  a big white bear belongs. Bear concurs.

"SNOW!"

Of course. Bear is a polar bear and he finds a home closer to the North Pole a perfect fit.

The two best friends stay in touch with long telephone conversations, until one day Bear has a surprising suggestion that the two go somewhere together. But, where?

Sophy Henn's Where Bear? (Penguin Group, 2015) seems to end with a question mark, until and unless... the reader turns to the collophon page, where a small illustration shows boy and bear, from the back, carrying their luggage through a door which says DEPARTURES. Oh, the places they will go!

Henn's pudgy white bear and boy in striped polo shirt are mostly shown face to face as they work out the wrinkles in their unusual friendship. Friends have differences, and working out ways to stay friends is one of the marvels of friendship itself, and Henn's illustrations portray that negotiation process humorously and charmingly.  The New York Times reviewer says "Henn's sophisticated matte-toned illustrations make for a zippy take on the 'finding your place' genre."

Go To Sleep, Okay? Goodnight Already!" by Jory John

"I'VE NEVER BEEN SO AWAKE!"

Duck has just polished off a mug of strong coffee while reading his book, 101 Ways to Stay Awake, and he's wired.

"I WONDER WHAT BEAR IS DOING?"

Well, Bear has just announced that he's never been so tired and could sleep for weeks. A big grouchy bear ready for hibernation is not exactly ready to party all night!

Duck is insistent.

"WANT TO HANG OUT? WANT TO PLAY CARDS? WATCH MOVIES? DRINK SMOOTHIES?"

"NO!" SAYS BEAR.

Fine! Feeling dissed, Duck stomps out. Bear yawns and with his pink Teddy crawls into his tempting bed, just as Duck goes Pssst! at his window, offering to bake cookies. Bear repeats his message, but Duck is soon back, asking to borrow all the ingredients for the cookies. Bear sends him away, but Duck is soon back, whinging about stubbing his beak.

Bear gets downright scary.

"GOODNIGHT ALREADY!"

Sheesh! What a grumpus! mutters Duck, but he finally calls it a night.

But now Bear has another problem.

"I'VE NEVER BEEN SO AWAKE!"

Jory John's brand-new Goodnight Already! (Harper, 2015) is unashamedly a picture-book takeoff on the plots of vintage cartoons--Tom and Jerry, Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, and the rest of those iconic "wascally wabbit" types. Duck is determined to keep Bear awake, with comic results, in this delightfully designed cinematographic story book. John's Bear is the perfect curmudgeonly type, and Duck the devilishly obdurate pest who keeps appearing at the door. Young readers who are fans of Jackie Urbanic's hilarious Duck at the Door and its several sequels (see reviews here) and Bonnie Becker's beloved A Visitor for Bear (Bear and Mouse), A Bedtime for Bear (Bear and Mouse), and sequels (see reviews here) will find this one a fine piece of bedtime-denier fare.

Hibernation Helper: A Bed for Bear by Clive McFarland

IT WAS ALMOST WINTER, AND BERNARD WAS GETTING SLEEPY.

THERE WAS JUST ONE PROBLEM.

HOW COULD BERNARD POSSIBLY BE EXPECTED TO SLEEP IN THE BEAR CAVE?

IT WAS TOO NOISY AND TOO CROWDED.

Mom and the other cubs were already denning down, but Bernard, apparently a picky sleeper, picks up his pillow and heads out to find a better crib in which to crash!

Frog reports that his pad is possibly available, but when Bernard tries to hop onto one of the lily pads by the shore, he finds that a lake bed is WET!

There's a beehive, but it's obviously too busy and buzzy, and he accepts Bird's offer to try out his nest. Bernard makes a mess of it, while deciding it's too windy for sleeping up there. He nearly wrecks Rabbit's burrow, only to discover that it only accommodates his upper half. Hedgehog is no help, since he sleeps rough in the rain, and when Bernard beds down in Badger's sett, he promptly gets a firm eviction notice.

Then Mouse, who's been watching at a discrete distance all along, finally comes forth with a suggestion. Bernard is ready to accept any assistance at this point, and Mouse leads him back the way he came, to a familiar-looking cave. And by this time, his eyes barely half open, Bernard sees his mom's den in a new light, in Clive McFarland's humorous look at hibernation, A Bed for Bear (Harper, 2014). McFarland's narration and illustrative style has the dry, deadpan humor of Bonnie Becker's delightful A Visitor for Bear (Bear and Mouse). McFarland's artistic style is quite different, being stylized and digitally enhanced, but offers the same wry approach that charms the reader. And as a bedtime story, this one has the advantage of easing the listener closer and closer to that good nighty-night.

Eye Candy! Bear Sees Colors by Karma Wilson

MOUSE AND BEAR ARE WALKING.
CHITTER-CHATTER TALKING.
SO MUCH FOR THEM TO DO,
AND BEAR SEES... BLUE!

Out strolling with his trusty sidekick, Mouse, Bear suddenly becomes aware of

BLUE DRAGONFLIES, BLUEBERRIES...
BLUE EVERYWHERE!

Bear has as epiphany! Once he starts thinking about blue, he suddenly sees it everywhere, But then....

Hare howdy-doos them from down the trail and points out something ahead.... RED.

Ooh! Right away Bear sees red raspberries on the bush.

Down by the pond Badger bops by in red overshoes, just as Bear sees... YELLOW bees!

And suddenly there are yellow things all around. Wow.

But Mole has a different view down by stream. He spots GREEN.

Before the woodland stroll is done, all of Bear's friends get into the fun. The picnicking Wren, Raven, and Owl are just sitting down, when Bear sees something yummy and BROWN!

The well-browned cookies are passed around, and a good time is had by all in Karma Wilson's first concept book starring her beloved Bear, Bear Sees Colors (The Bear Books) (Margaret K. Elderry Books, 2014). As an introductory colors book for the nursery school set, as a review for older youngsters, or even as an easy reader, Wilson's rhythm and rhyme put kids through their paces, while Jane Chapman's familiar illustrations are just as charming as ever for fans of Wilson's best-selling Bear series, which began with Bear Snores On (The Bear Books) in 2002.

For a fascinating follow up, add Herve' Tullet's delightful new hit, Mix It Up! (see recent review here) to the color mashup to take the color session to a new level.

Stuff Happens! Frank! by Connah Brecon

FRANK WAS LATE!  FRANK WAS ALWAYS LATE.

Frank is a good guy, always ready to pitch in to help a stranger in need.

But when school starts, it seems stuff always happens to make him late. The first day of school he arrives after dismissal.

On the second day he vows to do better... and he does.  He gets there right after lunch. It seems there was a cat stuck up high in a tree, and there was no one but Frank to get her down. Teacher is not pleased, but who can punish a kitty rescuer?

On the third day Frank does much better. He makes it to class just in time for lunch. Questioned, he has quite a tale to tell:

FRANK HAD BEEN MISTAKEN FOR FAMOUS DANCER AND CHALLENGED TO A CHARITY DANCE-0FF, WHICH TURNED OUT RATHER WELL!

It gets worse. The next day Frank almost makes it before the morning bell stops ringing. But he has a good excuse--something about motherless baby bunnies and a evil ogre!

By the end of the week, Teacher has had it. Just as Frank opens his mouth to explain why he's late again, the teacher shouts

STOP!!

But before she starts her tirade on chronic lateness, everything goes dark! Boom! Flash!

Are those plumes of red-hot fire shooting past the window? Are those Zombie King Lizards at the door?

And here's Frank, just in time!

Even without super powers, Frank never fails, in Connah Brecon's funny, tongue-in-cheek tale of a tardy but timely hero, Frank! (Running Brook Press, 2014). In Brecon's piquant cityscape, there seem to be many opportunities for this capeless crusader, as Frank the bear nonchalantly makes his way to school through streets seemingly filled with peril. "Quirky appeal," promises Kirkus Reviews.

Time for a Brief-ing! One Big Pair of Underwear by Laura Gehl and Tom Lichtenheld

ONE BIG PAIR OF UNDERWEAR.

TWO LITTLE BROWN BEARS WHO HATE TO SHARE.

ONE BEAR WEARS THE UNDERWEAR.

ONE BEAR CRIES, "THIS ISN'T FAIR!"

Right away you can see where this one is going.

In Laura Gehl's new One Big Pair of Underwear (Beach Lane Books, 2014), the author's silly verses set forth the situation: somebody's sure to get shorted when the supply of briefs is tight in the whitie department!

And they're not the only ones. While Gehl is counting up the critters, each batch is one short of a match!

There are three yaks with backpacks, but only two sacks of snacks. Alack!

With only three scooters painted teal and four pale seals ready to ride, one seal has to steal a set of wheels.

It only gets worse as the count goes up:

SEVEN JET SKIS, SHINY BLUE.

EIGHT COWS CRAVE SOMETHING NEW.

SEVEN COWS CALL "MOO-HOO-HOO!"

ONE HOT COW STEWS: "MOO-BOO-HOO!"

And the shortage persists as the numbers grow.

Ten baboons battle over nine trombones. Nine get in line and sound so fine:

NINE BABOONS MARCH WITH THE BAND.

ONE BABOON GETS LESS THAN PLANNED.

One baboon stuck with only a triangle to ting is a sad thing! But... wait! A solution is in sight!

Twenty pink pigs wanting a playground slide are stuck with only ten slides to ride. Now what?

It's pigs to the rescue! Piggyback is the only way to go, and the rest of the crew take their cue from the pigs' two-by-two. Even the little bears figure out how to double up in those tightie whities, and with that plug for sharing, all's well that ends well.

With the certified silly illustrations of Tom Lichtenheld, who did the best-selling artistic honors for Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site, Shark vs. Train, and Everything I Know About Pirates. and newcomer Laura Gehl's quirky couplets to do the counting up, the end product is a rib-tickling Seussian-style story-in-rhyme that kids will care to share again and again. You can count on it.