Nancy White Carlstrom

Jesse Bear's upset that a cousin he dislikes is coming for a visit this summer. But spending a week together helps him see her good points.

It might have been nice to have an indicator when the rhyming narration switches character point of view for young readers and those of us who like to do silly voices on the fly as we read aloud, but it's still a fun little tale.

Gorgeous. Almost makes me wish I believed in a god. I love that it can be just a fun read as we watch the young girl pretend to be one of the animals representative of each verse, or it can be profound and spiritual as one reads aloud the poetry over and over again. Vibrant and joyful. For all ages.

I think maybe my favorite verse is:

Glory be to God for fuzzy spots
of worms and wrigglers,
stripes and polka dots,
the beetle's dance, the spider's poise,
the lizard's leap,
all crickets' joyous show more noise,
curling bugs and slugs and snails
that whisper holy praise in silver trails. show less

Listen.  Listen to this bright shining earth!"  I love that the little girl just happens to be non-white.  Hispanic, black, or Indian children could all see themselves in her. Also, she's a child - not a tomboy, not a fancy-nancy, but a child.  Absolutely lovely artwork, especially the page where she dances, as the sky instructs, freely and joyfully in her yellow sundress in the glowing morning light.  A must-own for libraries, and a wonderful gift for your special little girl so she show more can grow up both kind and fearless, joyful and wise." show less

Jesse Bear takes us through his daily routine, telling us what he wears in the morning, afternoon and evening. What he wears gets a little silly, abstract, and downright poetic at times, which left me cold.