Bear's Day Out

PreS-Gr 2A large, amiable-looking bear has a habit of asking himself questions."I'm a bear in a cave. In a cave? In a cave." He goes for a stroll by the sea ("By the sea? By the sea!") but he is distracted by the sound of the city in the distance. His curiosity prompts him to investigate, and soon he is among the throngs of people, including a group who laugh at him when he sits on a swing in a park. He runs off and some children find him sitting on a bench looking more dazed than disconsolate. Determining he is lost, they return him to the beach by sunset where they splash happily in the waves. The repetitive questioning of the perpetually bewildered bear becomes more tiresome than engaging and the sound effects"chuffy, chuff," "whooshy, whoosh," "vroomy vroom"do not effectively lift this pleasant if uninspired tale to the level of the art. Reynolds's watercolors are quite appealing, full of rich colors and golden hues, and an especially nice spread silhouette of the bear and children on a bridge and then on a train. All in all, this is a good-natured effort that would work when paired with David McPhail's "Lost!" (Little, Brown, 1993)."Susan Moorhead, New Rochelle Public Library, NY" Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

As in his "We're Going on a Bear Hunt", Rosen winningly invites audience participation, and yet the beguiling watercolors share at least equal credit for this book's charm. The story concerns a soulful bear who lives alone in a cave until he decides to venture to the city. Reynolds ("Harry and the Dinosaurs") depicts the bear as a lovable oversize teddy with an extraordinarily expressive face, while the illustrator's cityscapes are as chock-full of movement, color and people as the puzzled bear can handle. As with the familiar camp tale about the lion hunt, Rosen's repeated audience responses can be infectious (Past the cars./ Whooshy whoosh/ Whooshy whoosh/ Whooshy whooshy whoosh/ On the train./ Chuffy chuff./ Chuffy chuff./ Chuffy chuffity chuff). However, because every line of the bear's narrative is followed by a response (I ran to the park./ To the park?/ To the park!/ I sat on a swing./ On a swing?/ On a swing!), the format occasionally constrains the movement of the story. Reynolds varies the layout with close-ups and pages split into panels, and the bright primary colors contrast with dramatic illustrations of silhouetted children and bear crossing a bridge or dancing joyfully in the cool light of the moon. Readers (or viewer/listeners) will be hooked. Ages 4-8. "(Oct.)" Copyright 2007 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.