"Hi! I'm Sun Bear. I'm nocturnal.
That means I sleep by day and
search for food at night. So I
don't see the actual sun that often.
I'm the smallest bear.
But I've got the longest tongue
of any bear - ten inches!
I'm diurnal - active during the
day unless too many people,
predators, or other bears are
nearby."
I had hopes that a copy of this new book would be here before my granddaughters returned home last week. We have anxiously anticipated its arrival since author Joan Holub suggested her new book would be about bears. We knew about it because we read I Am the Shark almost every night they were here last July. They loved it then, and it remained a favorite read this past July as well. Oh well, there's always next year. Full of information and humor, Bears Are Best is sure to be a hit with them.
It doesn't take long to meet a brown bear, a polar bear, an American black bear, a sloth bear, a spectacled bear, a sun bear, a giant panda, and an Asiatic black bear. They introduce themselves in order, starting with Brown Bear who believes he's the only bear in the entire book. Imagine his surprise when the others introduce themselves.
"Three bears in one book? It's getting to
be like that Goldilocks story in here."
Through conversation that moves back and forth between the eight species, readers learn about the features that identify one from the other, where they live and their routines, and what they like to eat. When Brown Bear has finally had enough of the interlopers, he explodes:
"STOP!
NO MORE BEARS!
There are officially only eight species (kinds)
in this book, and in the whole world. That's ALL!"
At this point, a masked octopus does its best to introduce itself as a bear. The bears will not be fooled, noting the many contrasts between a bear and an octopus. It occasions the development of a list of similarities, entitled EIGHT THINGS THAT MAKE A BEAR A BEAR. Number eight concerns favorite foods and affords each species a chance to share its very best meal.
With the arrival of winter, the bears prepare to return to their homes; two to hibernate, and the rest to 'hibernot'. Soon, Brown Bear is the ONLY bear left. In need of alone time, he snuggles up in his cave for a long winter's sleep.
Collage illustrations certainly add to the appeal, with cartoon animals whose expressive faces and body language are endearing and humorous. Final pages revisit each of the bear species, offering short paragraphs of further facts.There is also a list of resources for those who want to know more.
Just a thought: is the fact that an octopus has been included in the book's pages a hint of what's to come? I wonder.
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