Bear's Busy Family

by Stella Blackstone, Debbie Harter (Illustrator), Henry Strozier (Narrated by)

Overview

"A simple rhyming text and appealing illustrations will capture the very youngest of children.... Cats, birds, mice, and squirrels populate the indoor and outdoor scenes as wiggly grace notes and the bears' pointy faces and large fuzzy bodies are reassuringly cozy" — Kirkus Reviews

Meet the rest of Bear's family and learn about all of their busy activities. Smell, touch, taste and sound are all familiarized in this rhyming text, and there is a full spread family tree at the end. Includes QR code access to audiobook narrated by Henry Strozier.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781841481531
Publisher:	Barefoot Books
Publication date:	01/01/2000
Series:	Bear
Pages:	24
Sales rank:	1,085,800
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 9.75(h) x 0.12(d)
Lexile:	NP (what's this?)
Age Range:	2 - 6 Years

About the Author

Award-winning author Stella Blackstone has written many of Barefoot's best-selling titles, including the Bear series and the Cleo the Cat series. She has been writing for children for over twenty years. Stella lives in Somerset, UK.

Debbie Harter has illustrated over 20 books for Barefoot, including the beloved Bear series. As a child, Debbie would "lose herself in books (as long as they had pictures)" and hopes to continue doing so until she's very old. She lives in Cornwall, England.

Henry Strozier is a film and Broadway actor and television narrator. He has worked with Discovery Channel, PBS and National Geographic among others. In 2016, he won an Audie award for his narration work and is a two-time Emmy nominee. Henry has narrated over 100 books.

Editorial Reviews

"A simple rhyming text and appealing illustrations will capture the very youngest of children.... Cats, birds, mice, and squirrels populate the indoor and outdoor scenes as wiggly grace notes and the bears' pointy faces and large fuzzy bodies are reassuringly cozy" — Kirkus Reviews

"Capture the hearts and minds of all the children with this excellent picture book! Each page is packed with images that will spark conversation with children. This would be an ideal resource for introducing genealogy and extended families" — Early Years Educator

From the Publisher

PreS-Gr 1-Another winning story from the author and illustrator of Bear in a Square (1998) and Bear on a Bike (1999, both Barefoot). In simple rhyming couplets, a bear describes each of his relatives, all of whom are in the midst of an activity: "Smell the bread my grandma bakes/Touch the bowls my grandpa makes." Not until the end of the tale do readers discover that each family member is preparing for the bear's younger sibling's first birthday party. Large, cheerfully colored illustrations in pen and ink, watercolor, and crayon depict a happy extended family working and coming together to celebrate a special day. The endpapers display the results of the bears' endeavors and the last double-page spread shows an actual "Family Tree" with the relatives perched on the branches. An entertaining book that may be helpful when explaining familial relationships to young children, and suitable for reading aloud or for beginning readers.-Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

A simple rhyming text and appealing illustrations will capture the very youngest of children, despite a rather innocuous title. A family of bears goes about their work: a grandmother bakes bread, a grandfather makes pottery, a father gardens, a mother sews, and so on. The narrator describes each in terms of the relationship—brother, sister, aunt, etc.—and each activity in terms of tactile experience: "Touch the plums/my sister picks/Taste the bowl/my brother licks." The pictures are boldly colored, with an effervescent, whimsical line, as the bears cook, prepare, and make music for, it turns out, the baby's birthday. Cats, birds, mice, and squirrels populate the indoor and outdoor scenes as wiggly grace notes, and the bears' pointy faces and large fuzzy bodies are reassuringly cozy. (Picture book. 2-6)

Kirkus Reviews