Love Songs of the Little Bear

Margaret Wise Brown, author of Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny, is one of the best-selling and most prolific children's authors of all time.

PreSchool-Grade 1-Filled with warmth and wonder, these four previously unpublished poems take a bear cub through the seasons. In the first, the youngster is swept away by the splendors of spring. As he walks with his mother through blossom-filled meadows, he reassures her: "It's a long time that I'll love you/And if I seem to stray/It's only that I'm watching/The flowers bloom in May." In "Green Song," he takes a pail and shovel to explore a field of wildflowers where "-little things creep/In their green grass forests deep/Deep in their long-stemmed world." On a wet autumn day, the little bear ventures out with a bright yellow umbrella and listens to the rhythmic songs of the wind and the rain. The final selection, "Snow Song," has a calming, quiet pace that is well suited to the subject and makes a fitting end piece ("Snow snow/Slow slow/In the soft fall of the snow/The little boats go"). The poems use simple language, gentle repetition, familiar images, and appealing rhythms that will capture the attention and imaginations of young listeners. Varying from smaller vignettes to full- and double-page spreads, the gouache paintings tie the poems together nicely by creating a strong visual story line. The outdoor scenes are lush and inviting, and show each of the seasons at its best. Jeffers does a wonderful job of expressing the little bear's relationship with his mother and the excitement that he feels with each new experience. A delightful choice for group sharing or enjoying one-on-one.
Joy Fleishhacker, formerly at School Library Journal
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.