MEDIA

Brother Hugo and the Bear

by Katy BEEBE
1 CD. 11 min. Dreamscape. 2015. $14.99. ISBN 9781681416236.
COPY ISBN
K-Gr 3—Brother Hugo can't return his library book, the letters of Saint Augustine, because a hungry bear has devoured them. The abbot instructs him to make penance by journeying to Chartreuse to acquire the letters and painstakingly recopy them for the library. Brother Hugo does so with the help of his friends but runs across the bear again on his return back to the monastery. The language and description of medieval bookmaking give opportunity for discussion on historical context. The audio version is well read by Gildart Jackson. Music accompanies the narration and adds to the medieval feel. However, pauses in the music between pages are choppy. The story is whimsical and brief but requires the visual clues of the illustrations for the youngest listeners. A second track includes page-turn signals.
VERDICT Best suited for listening while the book is being displayed. Purchase to add variety to the read-aloud experience. ["Combines suspense, humor, and information in a handsome, entertaining package": SLJ 5/14 starred review of the Eerdmans book.]
Reviewed by Rebecca Flannery, Memorial Elementary School, East Hampton, CT , Jan 01, 2016

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