Submitted by Ms. Carol!
What About Bear? by Suzanne Bloom is a cute story about friendship. Bear and Duck are the best of friends. They have lots of fun playing together, until one day Fox appears, and he wants to play too. Bear and Duck play with Fox until Fox decides that he doesn’t want to include Bear. He wants to play a different game, and Bear is just much too big to play. Of course Duck is not happy about this, and Bear is so sad. Duck keeps saying “What about Bear?” and Fox always has some reason that Bear can’t play. Bear is too grumpy, or Bear is too far away. Finally Bear is so sad he starts to leave. Duck stops Bear, and tells Fox that Bear is his big, old, sometimes grumpy friend. Duck tells Fox that he can be his and Bear’s new friend, and they all play together happily. This is a great story about sharing and how it is always nice to be nice to others. See this book listed in our catalog
Bears
Bear with Me
Submitted by Ms. Carol!
Bear with Me by Max Kornell is a story about a boy named Owen and the day his parents bring home a new family member: a bear named Gary. Owen doesn’t understand why his parents had to bring home a bear to get in his way. Gary breaks his stuff. Gary takes up all of Mom and Dad’s time. Gary snores so loud it sounds like a helicopter is flying around Owen’s room. He is just so annoying. Then one day Gary shares his blocks with Owen, and Owen starts to realize that Gary isn’t so bad after all. He is really good at blocks, and he is really a lot of fun to play with. Owen decides Gary isn’t annoying after all, and having a new family member to play with can be wonderful. See this book listed in our catalog
Pond Walk
Submitted by Ms. Janis!
Pond Walk by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace. Buddy Bear and his mother spend a summer day at Pete’s Pond. Buddy hopes to spot a turtle. He draws many of the plants, bugs, and animals he sees at the pond. His mom takes a field guide book, and reads information about what they see at the pond. They see ducks and geese, a beetle, a frog, cattails, duckweed, water lilies, dragonflies, a salamander, and a pond skater. Buddy does see a turtle briefly, and also sees a cloud shaped like a turtle. The author/illustrator uses mixed-media collage illustrations (cut paper, photographs, and colored pencil) to make this book visually appealing. She even includes instructions to make a turtle out of a rock! See this book listed in our catalog
Polar Opposites
Me and You
Submitted by Ms. Tess!
Me and You by Anthony Browne is a fascinating take on the story of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.” The illustrations, which I felt were pleasantly evocative of Wes Anderson’s film Fantastic Mr. Fox, portray simultaneously a cheery family of bears in their lovely house and, in stark contrast, a gritty urban setting, home to a small girl with blond hair. As the family of bears take a leisurely stroll through the park (while their porridge cools), the young yellow-haired girl discovers their door ajar, after a distressing walk through a neighborhood full of graffiti, broken windows, and barbed wire. When the bears return to find their belongings obviously tampered with, they are understandably alarmed. Our Goldilocks is also understandably alarmed when she’s discovered where she doesn’t belong, and flees the scene as hastily as possible. “I wonder what happened to her?” the baby bear wonders, but we get to see the girl run into the arms of a caring mother. This is a great book to demonstrate that there is more than one side to every story. See this book listed in our catalog
Hello My Name Is Bob
Submitted by Ms. Amanda!
Hello My Name Is Bob by Linas Alsenas. There are different types of friendships, and different kinds of friends. Friends can be different! They don’t have to like the same things or do the same things. Consider Bob and his friend Jack in this book. Bob and Jack are friends, but they are very different, and that is OK! Bob is a boring bear. He doesn’t like to play chase, or travel, but instead likes to count toothpicks, or practice humming. What he really likes to do is sit… just sit! Jack is wacky, and not boring at all. He does wild and crazy things! Jack takes Bob to the ice cream shop, and the alligator swamp, and even to the amusement park! Bob just likes the parking lot at the amusement park, where he can sit (Bob thinks sitting is great). Even though Bob and Jack are so different, they are good friends because Jack can be just a boring as Bob–when he is asleep! See this book listed in our catalog