FICTION

Snowy Bear

by Tony MITTON
illus. by Alison Brown. 32p. ebook available. Bloomsbury. Sept. 2015. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9781619639058.
COPY ISBN
PreS-Gr 1—A furry little white bear, reminiscent of Peter in Ezra Jack Keats's The Snowy Day is outside on a cold winter day. "Here is a bear who has nowhere to go, so he's plodding along through the cold winter snow. Behind him his prints trace a long, weary line, but ahead the snow's waiting, unbroken and fine." He searches high and low for a warm, cozy place to sleep, but has no luck. At last he comes upon a small farmhouse, and finds a roaring fire and a lonely little girl who is happy to have the company. They play games, read stories and "snuggle down for a midwinter nap." The artwork, created with acrylic paint and colored pencil, is charming but the story is ever so slight.
VERDICT There are far better books about winter, snowy days, and bears.
Reviewed by Gwen Collier, Buffalo and Erie County Public Library, NY
Unable to find refuge in other animals' already-crowded homes, a lone little bear wandering in the cold wintery night finds comfort and companionship inside a cozy farmhouse. In the acrylic and colored-pencil illustrations, windy blues abruptly change to glowing firelight reds as a lonely little girl welcomes the bear into her home, reinforcing the singsongy rhyming text's emphasis on warmth, kindness, and friendship.
 , Jul 01, 2015

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