Amazon.com (ISBN 0440840414, Paperback)

This is the first I Can Read Book ever, and the first of five classic Little Bear books, expressly designed for beginning readers. Elsa Holmelund Minarik and Maurice Sendak teamed up to create these simple stories that are deeply comforting and lovingly playful. In one story, "Birthday Soup," Little Bear cannot find his mother and presumes she has forgotten his birthday. With the prospect of guests arriving and no cake in sight, he sets out to make birthday soup (all his friends like soup). Just as the gathering is sitting down for soup, Mother Bear shows up with a big, beautiful birthday cake. "I never did forget your birthday, and I never will," she says to her son as he hugs her leg. In "Little Bear Goes to the Moon," Little Bear declares that he will fly to the moon in his new space helmet. Mother Bear tells him to be back by lunch, and he is. The gentle, teasing repartee between Little Bear and his mother will delight young readers, and the spacious layout and large type will encourage them to keep on reading! (Ages 4 to 8)