A Cub Story

by Alison Farrell, Kristen Tracy

Overview

Alison Farrell's The Hike meets Richard Scarry's I Am a Bunny in this delightful board book that combines sweetness and science.

Timeless and nostalgic, quirky and fresh, lightly educational and wholly heartfelt, this autobiography of a bear cub will delight all cuddlers and snugglers.

See the world through a bear cub's eyes in this charming book about finding your place in the world. Little cub measures himself up to the other animals in the forest. Compared to a rabbit, he is big. Compared to a chipmunk, he is HUGE. Compared to his mother, he is still a little cub.

The first in a series of board books pairs Kristen Tracy's timeless and nostalgic text with Alison Farrell's sweet, endearing art for an adorable treatment of everyone's favorite topic: baby animals!

PERFECT FOR BEDTIME KISSES: The book goes through a day in the life of a baby bear cub and ends tucked into his den with mama bear. The perfect book to take families through their own day, ending with a cozy goodnight moment!

ENCOURAGES CHILDREN TO IMAGINE OTHER PERSPECTIVES: This book is told in the first person: "I am a cub." This unusual narrator will get the youngest readers thinking about what it's really like to be a little bear cub!

TEACHES COMPARISONS: The idea of seeing through the animal's eyes by comparing themselves to familiar ideas (cub is bigger than rabbit but smaller than mama bear) is a perfect introduction to comparative logic.

CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED ILLUSTRATOR: Alison Farrell is the author/illustrator of the fan favorite The Hike, along with Cycle City and Bicycle Bash. Here she brings her love of science and sweet animals a brand-new series based on forest animals!

BABY ANIMALS!: There's one thing all babies love: baby animals! There are all kinds of animals to look at and learn about in these pages, rich with wildlife and filled with love.

A BOOK TO BOND OVER: This is the perfect cuddly read between baby and parent, since it's focused on baby animals and their families.

Perfect for:

•Parents
• Grandparents
• Friends searching for the perfect baby shower gift
• Animal lovers

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452179070
Publisher:	Chronicle Books LLC
Publication date:	09/28/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	22
File size:	24 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	2 - 4 Years

About the Author

Alison Farrell has a deep and abiding love for wild berries and other foraged foods. She lives, bikes, and hikes in Portland, Oregon, and other places in the Pacific Northwest.
Kristen Tracy writes books for teens and tweens and people younger than that, and also writes poetry for adults. She's spent a lot of her life teaching writing at places like Johnson State College, Western Michigan University, Brigham Young University, 826 Valencia, and Stanford University. Now she lives in Los Angeles, California.

Editorial Reviews

★ 08/09/2021

A smiling, dot-eyed brown bear cub narrates its life over the course of a year, taking readers through seasonal bear activities, including sitting “very still” in front of a waterfall during spring, rolling down a hill into blackberry bushes in the summertime, fishing in the fall, and hibernating in the winter. As the cub compares its attributes to the animals around it—a moose’s appetite dwarfs its own, and the cub is a slower runner than the elk—young bear enthusiasts will find plenty to capture their attention. Tracy adds endearing, sensorial touches to otherwise straightforward diction: “This is my den./ I like it here./ Tucked in the back./ On top of leaves./ Curled into a cuddle lump.” Farrell contributes cheery, engaging art rendered in gouache, colored pencil, ink, and digitalmixed media to this lightly informative, bear-centered board book. Ages 2–4. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

A smiling, dot-eyed brown bear cub narrates its life over the course of a year . . . Tracy adds endearing, sensorial touches . . . Farrell contributes cheery, engaging art rendered in gouache, colored pencil, ink, and digital mixed media to this lightly informative, bear-centered board book.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“The bear’s breezy, childlike narration is informative . . . Laced throughout the story are tender turns of phrase that make the narrative more intimate . . . Farrell’s loose, languid, full-bleed illustrations appear airy and simple and create a warm and homey feel . . . Bear-y sweet.”—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2021-10-27
A cub frolics and munches his way through an idyllic first year.

“I am a bear. Do you see me?” Nestled inside a tall book with a narrow trim size, a small bear lives its best life, introducing young readers to bear habitats, foods, and activities throughout all the seasons. The bear’s breezy, childlike narration is informative; digestible chunks of information tell readers that it is “an expert at smelling” and has “big claws.” But within this simplicity there are helpful visual and textual cues about seasonal changes and useful context given through direct comparisons: “Compared to a hedgehog, I eat a lot. Compared to a moose, I eat a little.” Laced throughout the story are tender turns of phrase that make the narrative more intimate, as when the cub rests in a “cuddle lump.” The round, inquisitive, and endearing cub does mostly bearlike things, such as encountering delicious blackberries and fishing in streams, but there are a few slightly anthropomorphized scenes, such as when the bear plays “games” with a fox and wolf, making this book nonfiction-adjacent. Farrell’s loose, languid, full-bleed illustrations appear airy and simple and create a warm and homey feel, especially in a dark hibernation scene with the cub and its mother: “With my mama, I am just right.”

Bear-y sweet. (Board book. 1-4)

Kirkus Reviews