Baby Bear's Books - a review
New children's picture book by Jane Yolen
Written by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Melissa Sweet, here's Maryan Pelland's review of a picture book about how much fun books can be.
Titled Baby Bear's Books, it was published by Harcourt in 2006 (ISBN 13-978-0-15-205290-4). 40 pages. Author is Jane Yolen, illustrator is Melissa Sweet. Price is $16.00. The book is meant for ages 2-5.
Yolen has written a boat-load of books - more than 200. Melissa Sweet won the New York Times Best Illustrated Book Award for her Carmine, a Little More Red.
Little Bear's Books is entertaining, which is what you'd expect from a book for little kids. It's very colorful, with prints of watercolor illustrations printed well on great paper. An attention getter for the most restless youngster, or grandparent.
The book is large size, so it's good for holding a grandchild on your lap and sharing the book while you snuggle. Another plus. Simple words, with a good bit of repetition engages children and the story moves along in a rhyming fashion. I'm not always enamored of rhyming books, but this one works except for one little thing. I was driven nuts by the constant repetition of the word, so.
It felt like I saw the word on every page. Looking back, that isn't so, but it is often enough to draw attention.
Putting that aside, I like the book and will read it again to the kids in my life. In fact, I expect they'll ask for it because they love books and this one is all about Little Bear's favorite times to read. It's kind of warm and snuggly and talks a lot about the times in a child's life when she feels naturally safe, warm and loved. Lap time, bed time, after bath time.
It reads like this,
"My eyes start to close,
but my ears open wide.
So, come and sit down
with a book by my side.
Then read to me spaceships
and bear trips and then,
when you are finished
Oh, read them again.
And isn't that what we hope for with kids and books? The poetry is simple - not earth-shattering. The ideas are warm. The illustrations are fun, happy and full of light.
Not a bad addition to your collection of books for your significant children.
