Katharine McEwen

A young bear remembers the lessons of his parents as he prepares for the winter, meets another young bear, and begins to teach his own cub about survival.

I'm really torn about this book. On the one hand, I like the text. It's sweet without being sentimental, flows nicely off the tongue, and it isn't too text-heavy. I've been reading a lot of picture books for Cybils 2014 picture books and the most common reason I put something in the "do not purchase for the library" pile is that there's too show more much text.

Also, I absolutely love, love, love the illustrations. Simply stunning collages with color and enticing shapes to capture the eye. There's life and warmth in the pictures and I just want to pore over them, catching each small detail and spot of color and the wonderful shapes of the bears and the details on the trees. Yes, I really like these illustrations.

But...it's really difficult for me to overlook the weird clash of natural history and anthropomorphism. I'm not an expert, but I'm pretty sure adult male bears do not teach their cubs anything or stay with the family. In fact, bears being omnivores, they are quite happy to add "my offspring" to the dinner menu. This seems to be an attempt to portray an idealized, traditional family but I don't understand why that was necessary - why not stick to the facts, make it a female bear, have her think about how her mother taught her to survive, and then have her own bear cub?

Verdict: I really, really love the illustrations and seasonal books are always popular so I might go ahead and purchase it, but I doubt I'd use it in storytime and if I did it would be accompanied by an educational discussion of What Bears Are Really Like and how Single Families Are Ok Too. Apparently she's quite a prolific author/illustrator in the UK so I will wait hopefully for new releases from her here in the states.

ISBN: 9780763666309; Published 2014 by Templar/Candlewick; Borrowed from another library in my consortium show less

There are a lot of creatures that are hiding in the woods every day and we might not even see them. Children can follow along and guess who is hiding and find out once the lift the flap reveals what is underneath. This is a great read aloud title for younger children and they will love being able to guess what is under the flap. The pictures are colorful and bright and will keep the children engaged. I would recommend this for toddlers and up and for any collection.

There are a lot of creatures that are hiding on the river every day and we might not even see them. Children an follow along and guess who is hiding and find out once the lift the flap reveals what is underneath. This is a great read aloud title for younger children and they will love being able to guess what is under the flap. The pictures are colorful and bright and will keep the children engaged. I would recommend this for toddlers and up and for any collection.

Sturdy board book that has multiple pull open places on pages so little ones can discover woodland creatures. The book is divided into spring, summer, fall, winter and nighttime so children can learn which critters live where and what they look like during the various seasons. Props for including a page for the nocturnal ones.