Very Hairy Bear (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Very Hairy Bear Jeannette Hulick Schertle, Alice Very Hairy Bear; illus. by Matt Phelan. Harcourt, 200732p ISBN 978-0-15-216568-0$16.00 R 4-7 yrs Hairy from head to toe (except for his bare bear nose), a plump brown bear cheerfully eats his way through the woods as he prepares for winter. Though his flowing fur may get wet (from salmon fishing) and sticky (during a raid on a honey tree) and his nose may suffer bee stings and turn blue (after a romp in a blueberry patch), this bear doesn't care. However, when winter comes and the bear settles down for slumber, his naked nose feels the cold keenly; luckily, his big shaggy paws provide plenty of insulation. The pace of Schertle's poetic text complements her topic with a gently lumbering rhythm ("Each summer, he's a sticky, licky honey hunter, with his bear nose deep in the hollow of a bee tree") that slows as winter approaches ("When fish sink to sleep deep in the pond, wrapped in their silver scales"). Phelan's soft pencil and pastel drawings on creamy paper are accented with bolder, sketchy outlines that emphasize the bear's shaggy hair. The bear himself is more teddy than grizzly, a genial, big-bottomed fellow who revels in his gluttony (he luxuriates in the berry patch with a blueberry stuck on each claw). Pair this with Cooper's Bear Dreams or Fleming's Time to Sleep (BCCB 12/97) for a cozy ursine storytime. Copyright © 2007 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois