The Curious Cares of Bears

PreS-K--The creators of The Wonderful Habits of Rabbits delve into the ursine world, inviting readers to come along and observe the bears throughout the seasons. The "cares of bears" range from fairly realistic (gathering honey, swimming, hibernating) to "curious indeed"--riding mountain bikes, partying, and singing songs around a campfire. Sanchez's spirited illustrations lift Florian's serviceable rhymes. Her bears are delightfully expressive and clearly enjoying their varied activities, and her spreads are drawn with energetic lines and vibrant colors. Sharp-eyed readers will note details such as butterflies alighting on a bear's derriere, or a few bunny visitors in the background of an autumnal spread. VERDICT A silly romp. Not a must-buy, but a fun read-aloud to add to collections looking to update their bear-themed selections.--Yelena Alekseyeva-Popova, formerly at Chappaqua Library, NY

In a buoyant follow-up to The Wonderful Habits of Rabbits, Florian uses rhymes that bound along merrily to chart the things that bears get up to, both realistic (splashing around in a creek) and whimsical (going mountain biking). As the verse moves through the seasons ("In autumn, there's playing in leaves all day long, / then building a campfire and sharing a song"), Sanchez uses scribbly lines and bursts of bright color to fill many of the book's scenes with a rambunctious ursine energy--in one, fish go hurtling into the air as a pair of bears cannonball into the water, and a chain of bears form a conga line a few pages later, "partying heartily, dancing all night;/ howling and growling until morning light." A brief detour into the world of winter hibernation slows things down a bit as Florian makes his way toward spring. The bubbly rhymes are made to be read aloud, and the bears' humanlike antics should tickle readers' imaginations, too. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Rubin Pfeffer, Rubin Pfeffer Content. Illustrator's agent: Teresa Kietlinski, Bookmark Literary. (Aug.)