Bedtime for Bear

Candlewick Press

Bonny Becker; Illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton

I can so clearly remember first reading A Visitor for Bear waaaaay back in 2008, when we were introduced to cantankerous Bear and mischievous Mouse. I fell in love with those two on the first read through and was so thrilled when it was followed with A Birthday for Bear in the fall of 2009.  Of course, I'm so pleased that Bonnie Becker and Kady MacDonald Denton have teamed up for a third time, with an all new predicament.

While Bear has a sweet moment here and there, for the most part he is a total curmudgeon.  Not surprisingly, he has never had an overnight guest before. By now, we know Bear is quite set in his ways, and this extends to his night time routine. Of course, he likes things just so: a perfectly fluffed pillow, his nightcap clapped on snugly, a glass of water on the nightstand, and most importantly - absolute silence. Cue Mouse for sleepover.

Bear lays out his rules for his guest, just so there will be no misunderstandings. And then ... Mouse brushes his teeth extremely loudly, hums when he puts on his nightshirt and proceeds to give his friend a most annoying hearing test. Bear finally lets loose with a bout of very loud shouting and Mouse quiets down in his makeshift, albeit very cozy looking, drawer.

Mouse is fast asleep when Bear wakes him in a panic, claiming to have heard some strange noises. And then Bear, who was so exasperated with his overnight guest, is suddenly quite glad to have a friend staying over.  Mouse checks the closet for prowlers and tells Bear a nice bedtime story to calm his nerves.  And the two friends fall fast asleep - on their very first sleepover. 

Bear and Mouse are the perfect pair of opposites and their friendship just somehow works.  Denton has a way of making them both look perfectly lovable, even when one is being gruff and the other is being annoying.  I would love to hear a fourth book will be coming along the trail ...   

Review copy provided by Candlewick Press.

Have You Ever Seen a Smack of Jellyfish?

Sasquatch Books

Sarah Asper-Smith

At our house, there is nothing we love more than a good alphabet book, with animal books weighing in at a close second. Predictably, this was a definite winner as soon as we had wrestled it from the wrapper. As a bonus, it was super fun to whip it out and quiz people who hadn't been given the chance to read it. "What do you call a bunch of turtles?  Wrong!"

I think it's really cool that a) each animal has their own name for their specific group, and b) so many of them really are not common knowledge.  At least that was the result of our informal polling. Author Sarah Asper-Smith must have come to the same conclusion with her research.  After reading that a group of ferrets is called a business, she started to research the collective nouns for animals (incidentally this turned out to be more lucrative than our path of just mocking friends and family for their wrong answers) and then illustrated them. She cleverly parlayed her collection into this adorable book.

How many animal groups do you think you can name? I felt pretty confident after Army of Ants and Flutter of Butterflies, but our guessing went downhill from there. I had no idea frogs gathered in a knot or a bunch of rhinoceroses was referred to as a crash. These are fun to learn!

At first glance, the illustrations appear simple, with the animals shown in black silhouette against bright backgrounds. But when you look a bit closer, you'll find fun little details tucked in, like a lone kangaroo sitting still while the rest of the troop gallops past, or a baby elephant tucked in line with the herd.  I like the watch of nightingales perched all over their beautiful lime green tree.

This last photo isn't in the book, but rather a collection of the book, (plus I just liked it).  Author Sarah Asper-Smith stands in front of all twenty-six illustrations from her book. How cool would that be to have in your house? Click here to read an interesting interview with her on the Indie/Pretty/Perfect blog. I should also mention that you should check out Sarah's Etsy shop to purchase prints or download her free coloring book for just plain fun. 

Review copy provided by Sasquatch Books.

Making the Moose Out of Life

 

Kids Can Press

Nicholas Oldland

Who doesn't love a contemplative moose?  Actually, those round, glassy eyes make him look more neurotic than contemplative, don't they? I guess he is a little bit neurotic. After all, he's a moose who lives in the wild that doesn't act wild at all.  That is a bit odd.

While his friends beaver and black bear cavort happily, the moose always hangs back. Ha, it cracks me up that the animals aren't wearing clothing, but do have skis and patterned winter scarves! The moose prefers to take a prudent approach, keeping dry under his umbrella while his friends stomp in puddles, shivering near a snowbank while they slalom down. Sometimes he feels he might be missing out on something, but he can't quite put his hoof on exactly what that is.

Suddenly it occurs to the moose that he needs to grab life by the antlers! He straps on a life jacket and hops onto a sailboat drifting by. The moose sets sail on an amazing adventure, ending up stranded on a desert island. Instead of being paralyzed by fear, he makes the best of things. He builds a shelter, tracks down his own food, and makes a new friend.

The moose is making the best of life on an island, when a cruise ship appears on the horizon.  The moose tearfully bids his tortoise friend adieu and again sets sail. This time he adapts to the life of a cruise goer, playing shuffleboard and grazing at the buffet.  When the ship arrives home, the moose is reunited with his old friends.  But he is not the same old moose. This moose will no longer remain on the sidelines, but will continue to grab life by the antlers!    

So the morale of the story is pretty obvious, but that doesn't make it any less true!  The moose shows us that it can be fun to step outside our comfort zones and try new things. Plus, the illustrations are just hilarious. My personal favorites: the beaver puddle jumping with the bear, the moose climbing for coconuts, and the moose and tortoise holding hands. But so many pages are super funny, that it was actually hard to pick.   

Author Nicholas Oldland also wrote Big Bear Hug, where the moose plays a cameo role.  Does that mean we can look for the next book to be about the beaver?  Man, I hope so.  

Review copy provided by Kids Can Press.

Aggie the Brave

Charlesbridge 

Lori Ries; Illustrated by Frank W. Dormer

This is the third book in the popular Aggie series.  The two preceding books, Aggie and Ben: Three Stories, and Good Dog, Aggie have gotten scores of good reviews as beginning reader books that also rate highly with preschoolers. After reading this one, I can certainly see the appeal. The little red-haired boy and his adorable dog are pretty easy to like.



In this installment of Ben and Aggie's adventures, the duo is making a trip to the vet's office.  The time has come for Aggie to be spayed.  I was a little surprised the author chose that particular operation to introduce to kids, but when I gave it a bit more thought, it really is sensible. Spaying an neutering is both an important and common procedure, and one that children should be familiar with. Ben's mom explains in her matter-of-fact way that in addition to preventing puppies, this will help keep Aggie from getting sick when she gets older. 

Both Ben and Aggie try very hard to be brave.  Ben asks the vet a lot of questions to quell his fears, gives Aggie a big hug and goes home without her for one night.  It is a long drive home without his friend and Ben's bed feels terribly empty that night.  

When they pick up Aggie the next day, Ben expects her to be excited to see him, running to greet him and jumping around.  But when he arrives, Aggie is lying very still, with a paper cone around her head.  The vet explains that Aggie needs some quiet time while her incision heals.  The paper cone is to keep her from licking her stitches (it's a dog thing).  Ben busts out his stash of art supplies and transforms the paper cone into a fierce lion's mane.  Each day, Aggie feels a bit better, until she is back to her old self.

This really is the perfect book for beginning readers.  The sentences are short and the nice, bright illustrations fill most of each page.  Plus, kids get to see that it's okay to be scared, and learn a little bit about responsible pet ownership. This really is a win-win for parents and children alike.

Review copy provided by Charlesbridge. 

In Front of My House

Kids Can Press

Marianne Dubuc

If you were asked to describe your house to someone who had never visited, what would you say?  Before diving into this book, I asked that of myself and was only astounded by how booooring my description was. Thank goodness Marianne Dubuc's descriptive abilities are far more fascinating. Her vision, coupled with her wonderfully simple illustrations. make this a tour you won't want to miss.

This is such a sweet little story about all the tiny details that come to light when you take a hard look at your surroundings. It starts off ordinarily enough:  "On a little hill, behind a brown fence, under a big oak tree, is .... my house." And then it drills down into tho details that so many of us take for granted, like the little bird who has taken up residence in the rose bush, or that striped green sock flung under the bed, wayward for three months and counting. 

This particular tour twists and turns erratically, jumping from the green sock to a book of fairy tales nearby. From there, it positively takes off, because there certainly is no limit to the imagination when it comes to a fictional book. We meet a family of upstanding rabbits and traipse through a very green forest before coming face to face with the Abominable Snowman. After a quick trip through outer space and across the big blue sea, we meet every type of imaginable creature, including a blue whale named Babette. Through the zoo and across the city, we spot a little hill that seems awfully familiar.  "On the little hill ... my house."  The tour has come full circle. 

 
Reading this has the effect of allowing you to view your own dwelling in a new light. You may very well feel inspired to put together your own tour. If Marianne Dubuc can include a pirate and a hunk of cheese as part of her tour, what would you include in yours?  This is both lovely to leaf though and infinitely inspiring.     


Review copy provided by Kids Can Press.