Bear Feels Sick

Summary: Bear becomes under the weather at the beginning of the story and cannot seem to get better. Bear's friends come and beg him to come play outside with them in the Autumn weather, but soon realize that Bear cannot be outside if he is not feeling well. The friends of Bear decide to do whatever they can to help Bear feel better as quick as possible so he can come play outside with them. After many tricks that the friends used to help Bear, he finally felt better! Bear was so pleased until he found out that his friends were sick. Bear decided that he would stay inside to help his friends, just like they helped him.

Review: A wonderful, heartwarming story about friends helping friends! Karma Wilson, author of Bear Feels Sick, did an show more amazing job creating a strong message by using a real life situation that young children face to show her readers that even though things may be bad, there are always people around to help us through everything. Bear was feeling under the weather and all he wanted to do was to go play outside and he could not do that. Bear's friends realized that he was sick and one friend "squeezed Bear tight" to let Bear know that everything would be okay (p. 8). Bear's friends "cooked and cared" for him as much as they could, which shows the young reader that she or he should not give up on his or her friends if the friend is in need (p. 17). Towards the end of the book when Bear wanted to "go frolic the day" because he "felt good," he put his wants aside and returned the favor to his now sick friends because they helped Bear at the beginning (p. 25).

Wilson wrote an amazing book that helps teach young children to do unto others and others would do unto them. It uses sweet characters to help capture the readers attention, while leaving the readers with a warm-fuzzy feeling of generosity. show less

I liked this book for 3 reasons. First, the book was written very well for the audience it was trying to reach. While reading, it was very easy to become engaged and interested in what was coming next. The story rhymed, which allowed it to flow properly and at a good pace. Also, the story was about many animals that were taking care of their sick friend, Bear, so this was a book that easily attracted a child’s attention. Next, the plot of the book was very strong. The story begins with a conflict involving Bear, the main character, being very sick. The other characters spent most of the book trying to help their friend get better. This included making him broth and tea, tucking him in under his blanket, and many other kind gestures. show more The book included a great ending where Bear felt better, but then all of his friends were sick, so he returned the favor and took care of them. This provides a very valuable learning lesson for children. Last, the illustrations were very descriptive and helped to give the words of the story a deeper meaning. The pictures showed Bear while he was sick and making sad faces. The pictures also showed his friends going out and finding things for Bear that would make him feel better. This provides children with a picture of the actual actions that they are reading in the text. The big idea of this story is at the end of the story when Bear feels better, but his friends feel sick. Bear decides to take care of his friends because they took care of him. This sends the message that when people do nice things, it is important to return the favor. This gesture emphasizes that being kind and caring for others are two important qualities to have. show less

A good example of fantasy because the animals have all taken on human characteristics, involving talking to and helping each other. They sing lullabies and make tea for bear when he is under the weather, just like human friends. For so many different animals to interact as friends would be impossible in real life, since some of those birds would prefer to eat the mice and other conflicts would arise. However, there are bits of truth the reader can come away with. Even though these animals risk becoming ill themselves, they still insist on helping their friend. When bear gets better and his friends become sick, he is sure to help them as they helped him when he was sick. This book ultimately models aspects good friendship. While this show more book is set in the wilderness, it is in bear's home. He is in his bed and is cared for as any human is when sickness falls. While this house is somewhat unfamiliar, there is a piece of the setting that can be related to, the fact that this is home. Bear is where most anyone prefers to be when they are sick, and this makes the story easier to relate to.

Media: acrylic show less

Bear has the sniffles and he's feeling quite poorly. His forest friends bring him water, soup, tea and a cool cloth. They tuck him into bed and sing him lullabies. Before long he's resting comfortably and on the mend. When he wakes up...
"Bear cries, 'I'm all better.
I'm feeling like new.
I'm not hot and achy
It's all thanks to you!"

Unfortunately, Bear's friends are now sick and it is time for Bear to take care of them.

An enjoyable reminder of how friends can help one another

A simple rhyming text carries the story through in this one. It's a very nice text and children would enjoy the illustrations I'm sure. It works on the value of friendship and is a very nice text to share on the subject with a predictable twist at the end when Bear has to take care of his friends who've gotten sick from taking care of him in the rest of the text.

After a long winter a great brown bear gets sick. He feels so awful so his friends the mouse, hare, badger, gopher, mole, raven, and wren goes to the cave a takes care of him. After they make bear feel better they all get sick, and bear has to take care of them. This book is really cute and can help with explaining how germs a spread but also how to take care someone who is sick.

This book is cute. It shows the meaning of friendship and taking care of one another. The vocabulary that is used can be for lower grades in elementary. It gives a set of trying to guess what is going to happen next. Little kids will be excited and wanting to know what happens next.