Old Bear

by Kevin Henkes

Overview

Come explore the four seasons with Old Bear

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062089632
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	09/27/2011
Pages:	28
Sales rank:	179,432
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 5.90(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	Up to 2 Years

About the Author

Kevin Henkes has been praised both as a writer and as an illustrator. He received the Caldecott Medal for Kitten's First Full Moon; a Caldecott Honor for Owen; two Newbery Honors, one for Olive's Ocean and one for The Year of Billy Miller; and a Geisel Honor for Penny and Her Marble. His other books include Old Bear, A Good Day, Chrysanthemum, and the beloved Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse.

Kevin Henkes has been praised both as a writer and as an illustrator. He received the Caldecott Medal for Kitten's First Full Moon; a Caldecott Honor for Owen; two Newbery Honors, one for Olive's Ocean and one for The Year of Billy Miller; and a Geisel Honor for Penny and Her Marble. His other books include Old Bear, A Good Day, Chrysanthemum, and the beloved Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse.

Hometown:

Madison, Wisconsin

Date of Birth:

November 27, 1960

Place of Birth:

Racine, Wisconsin

Education:

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Website:

http://www.kevinhenkes.com

Editorial Reviews

Classically and timelessly simple…another winner for very young children.

Horn Book (starred review)

Kindergartens and preschool classes studying the seasons will no doubt embrace this book.

New York Times Book Review

Elemental words and graceful pacing make this a perfect read-aloud for preschoolers.

Booklist (starred review)

"Classically and timelessly simple…another winner for very young children."

Horn Book

"Elemental words and graceful pacing make this a perfect read-aloud for preschoolers."

Booklist

…story and minimal text [are] finely pitched to a toddler's level…Exquisite.
—The New York Times

Pamela Paul

In time for autumn, Henkes (Kitten's First Full Moon) masterfully tells of a hibernating bear who "dreamed that spring had come and he was a cub again." Henkes's surefooted art guides readers through time: a terracotta dust jacket and acorn-brown frontpapers inked with dark brown leaves set the season. The tawny bear, pictured in full-page or four-to-a-page images, curls in his den, his eyes closed and his paws relaxed. Full-bleed spreads depict his dreams, first of being small among enormous flowers ("He took a nap in a giant pink crocus"), then of wandering on lush green summer hillsides ("The sky clouded over, and it rained blueberries"). His hibernation vision of fall includes rust-colored birds and orange fish, and his imaginary winter is a cool blue expanse under stars "of all colors." When the bear's eyes open on a real spring day, he feels refreshed, if larger and older than his dream self. Lyrically describing the young-at-heart, Henkes plays an artist's game of hot and cold watercolor hues. Lilac endpapers crowded with flowers and butterflies and a back cover image of the bear in springtime balance the cover's imagery and gently and calmly acknowledge the annual cycle. Ages 2-7. (Sept.)

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Publishers Weekly

PreS-K

Henkes cleverly begins his story on the front jacket. Against a backdrop of red leaves and drifting snowflakes, a large and endearing molasses-colored bear, defined by sturdy dark brown lines, strides across the page. His journey continues through the opening spreads: it is obvious that this creature knows exactly where he is heading. By the time the story actually begins, Old Bear has found his den and lies sound asleep, oblivious to the swirl of winter around him. Dreams comfort him: once more a cub and surrounded by the colors of spring, he naps in a giant pink crocus. His dreams turn to summer where a daisy sun shines in the sky, leaves appear as butterflies, and clouds rain tasty blueberries. Old Bear dreams on through the seasons. Then, one day he awakens, stretches, and heads out into the real world where he is met with flowering trees, butterflies and tulips, and a glistening lake. Now, Old Bear is part of the wonder. As he did in Kitten's First Full Moon , Henkes has created a thoroughly delightful character filled with curiosity and sweetness and placed him in a simple tale that unfolds with a natural, rhythmical pace. And to fill out his cyclical story, the artist provides autumnal front endpapers and contrasting vernal back endpapers. Opportunities to introduce the seasons, colors, and animal hibernation abound. Old Bear will enrapture young listeners for years to come.-Barbara Elleman, Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Amherst, MA

School Library Journal

When Old Bear sleeps, he dreams of being a cub and of the changing seasons. When he wakens and steps out into the soft pastels of Henkes's spring, he does not feel the passage of time, and in expression and carriage he exudes youthfulness. Many careful choices are made in a book that only seems uncomplicated. As bears go, smiling Old Bear looks as friendly as the teddies children cherish. His benign but shaggy appearance will invite them to learn many concepts, in the gentlest and most implicit way: youth and age, hibernation and renewal, the passage of seasons. Watercolor-and-ink paintings are bright but delicately hued. Bear's bold outline changes with the palette of each season. His fanciful dreams, as well as the spring "reveal," are full bleed, double-page spreads while other illustrations are neatly framed, emphasizing the ursine bulk. Confident, harmonious and sweet. (Picture book. 2-6)

Kirkus Reviews