A curious little cub will not settle down for his winter's rest until he knows exactly when spring will arrive. Reluctant sleepers will sympathize with the determined Alfie, even as they are lulled to rest by this gentle, charming tale.

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Alfie is a little bear cub. When his mother puts him down to rest for the winter, he is restless ... waking up often, hoping it is spring when he can play outside again.

The creator of The Dog Who Found Christmas introduces the not-so-sleepy bear cub, Alfie, who searches for signs of spring in his winter woodland home, but when spring in all its glory does finally arrive, someone is caught napping!

Mother bear instructs her baby bear, Alfie, that it is time to sleep until it is spring. Alfie keeps wondering when spring will arrive.
6 books

I liked this book for two reasons. First, the style of the illustrations fits the written text and are appropriate to the mood of the story. The facial expressions of the characters are apparent to the audience, which helps the audience understand what each character is feeling throughout the story. Along with this, the pastel and soft colors add to the mild and calming tone in the story. The illustrations are realistic and are appropriate to the anxious mood of the story. Along with this, the language was descriptive. The author appeals to the five senses and is descriptive with her language choice. For example, the author writes, "So Alfie slept and dreamed of butterflies, birds chirping, and sunshine on his back until something icy touched his nose! A tiny stream of water was trickling through the cave" (p. 21). With this descriptive language, the author provides the audience with a detailed description using the five senses so that the audience has a clear image of what is happening in the story. The language is descriptive, which helps the audience follow along and remain engaged as the story goes on. The big message of the story is patience, as the bear must wait until spring has arrived until he can go outside. ( )

The main idea about When Will it be Spring is the changing of seasons and learning about hibernation. I like this book because it had colorful pictures and was an easy read. Throughout the book the baby bear continuously asks his mama "But when will it be spring." The story is simple to understand and will teach young kids the basics about when bears hibernate. It would be a good book to introduce children to the topic of bears or changing of seasons. ( )

I like the book "When Will it be Spring?" because of the language the author uses, as well as, the illustrations presented in the book. The author uses very descriptive language throughout the story, describing each season fully. For example, Walters writes, " When the butterflies float by looking for new flowers, then it will be spring." The detailed illustrations also helped enhance the story. The pictures displayed common characteristics of each season including leaves for fall, snow for winter, and flowers for spring. The main message of this story was to explain hibernation and the changing of the seasons. ( )

This is book is about a bear that hibernates and when he wakes up he wants it to be spring, and he keeps asking his mom every time he wakes if it is spring. This book would be good for teaching season,weather and hibernation. ( )

This book is really cute and great for comparing and contrasting seasons!

http://www.jacketflap.com/persondetail.asp?person=24168 This website has a biography of Catherie Walters

This book is about a little bear who is hibernating for his first winter and is uncertain what the characteristics of spring are. He awakes many times believing certain aspects of winter to be those of spring until his mother has to teach him otherwise. While doing this, some characteristics of spring are introduced.

This is a good example of fantasy because it is about a character waiting for spring and asking his mom when it will be spring, but the characters are hybernating bears making the book unrealistic.
Media Used: Acrylic
Age Appropriateness: Primary

Age Appropriateness: primary/Elementary
Genre: This book is a fantasy book because it consists of personified bears. However because bears do hybernate and have these encounters, this story is believeable to children.
Media: Gouache/acrylic ( )