The Curious Cares of Bears

by Douglas Florian, Sonia Sánchez (Illustrator)

Overview

One family of bears does all their favorite things before it's time to hibernate for the winter in this follow-up to The Wonderful Habits of Rabbits by the award-winning author and illustrator team of Douglas Florian and Sonia Sánchez.

The cares of bears are curious indeed, as you will discover, if you care to read.

Join a family of bears as they have all kinds of fun throughout the seasons! From climbing up trees and stealing honey to giving bear hugs and lazing in lakes, these bears have many curious cares.

But when winter comes, it's time to hibernate. Can the cares of these bears wait until spring?

The rhyming text makes this story a perfect read-along book for storytime!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781499804621
Publisher:	little bee books
Publication date:	08/29/2017
Series:	Mini Bee Board Books Series
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Douglas Florian is a critically acclaimed children's book author and illustrator. He is the author of The Wonderful Habits of Rabbits, which has received rave reviews, including a star from School Library Journal. He is also well known for his poetry collections, including Dinothesaurus, a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year and a Junior Library Guild Selection; Bow Wow Meow Meow, a Parents Magazine Best Book of the Year; and many more. Florian is also a fine artist whose paintings have been exhibited in numerous art shows, and a former New Yorker cartoonist. He lives in Long Island, New York. Visit him online at douglasflorian.com.

Sonia Sánchez is an award-winning illustrator whose books include The Wonderful Habits of Rabbits and Here I Am, which received numerous starred reviews and earned her a nomination for an Eisner Award in the category of Best Painter. She is also the illustrator of Sister Day! by Lisa Mantchev for Paula Wiseman Books. Sonia lives with her husband and a sleepyhead cat in a blue house near the Mediterranean Sea.

Editorial Reviews

07/31/2017
In a buoyant follow-up to The Wonderful Habits of Rabbits, Florian uses rhymes that bound along merrily to chart the things that bears get up to, both realistic (splashing around in a creek) and whimsical (going mountain biking). As the verse moves through the seasons (“In autumn, there’s playing in leaves all day long,/ then building a campfire and sharing a song”), Sánchez uses scribbly lines and bursts of bright color to fill many of the book’s scenes with a rambunctious ursine energy—in one, fish go hurtling into the air as a pair of bears cannonball into the water, and a chain of bears form a conga line a few pages later, “partying heartily, dancing all night;/ howling and growling until morning light.” A brief detour into the world of winter hibernation slows things down a bit as Florian makes his way toward spring. The bubbly rhymes are made to be read aloud, and the bears’ humanlike antics should tickle readers’ imaginations, too. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Rubin Pfeffer, Rubin Pfeffer Content. Illustrator’s agent: Teresa Kietlinski, Bookmark Literary. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

07/01/2017
PreS-K—The creators of The Wonderful Habits of Rabbits delve into the ursine world, inviting readers to come along and observe the bears throughout the seasons. The "cares of bears" range from fairly realistic (gathering honey, swimming, hibernating) to "curious indeed"—riding mountain bikes, partying, and singing songs around a campfire. Sánchez's spirited illustrations lift Florian's serviceable rhymes. Her bears are delightfully expressive and clearly enjoying their varied activities, and her spreads are drawn with energetic lines and vibrant colors. Sharp-eyed readers will note details such as butterflies alighting on a bear's derriere, or a few bunny visitors in the background of an autumnal spread. VERDICT A silly romp. Not a must-buy, but a fun read-aloud to add to collections looking to update their bear-themed selections.—Yelena Alekseyeva-Popova, formerly at Chappaqua Library, NY

School Library Journal