Bear at the Beach and Other Adventures

by Clay Carmichael

Overview

Bear at the Beach & Other Adventures presents children with three stories of a cuddly, plush, bear named Bear. Bear goes on adventures and learns about friendship and emotions.

In Bear at the Beach & Others Adventures, kids and parents will find a collection of three stories from writer and illustrator Clay Carmichael. The loveable and stuffed Bear is center stage, taking on adventures of heart at home and afar.

In Bear at the Beach, our plush protagonist sets out to find a father who will love him unconditionally, but learns that his little girl, Clara, gives him all the love he needs. In Used-Up Bear, time has left our favorite stuffed toy in dire, threadbare straits. Will Clara throw Bear away in favor of a shiny new toy? The surprising and heart-warming conclusion cements Bear's place in Clara's life. Bear loses Clara in Lonesome Bear, and befriends new toys on his search for his best friend. Full of emotions that young children can relate to, Clay Carmichael's endearing collection is a gentle introduction to reading.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781633225718
Publisher:	Seagrass Press
Publication date:	10/24/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	128
File size:	23 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Clay Carmichael is an award-winning author and illustrator. Clay was born and grew up in Chapel Hill, NC. She attended Hampshire College in Amherst, MA, and graduated summa cum laude in creative writing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her picture books, including Bear at the Beach, and her young adult novels have been translated into many languages. Her young adult novel, Wild Things, was nameda 2010 ALA Notable Children's Book and a 2010 Bank Street College Book of the Year/Starred. She lives, writes, and illustrates in Carrboro, NC, with her sculptor-husband, Mike Roig, and an ever-growing number of animals. Each year, she and her husband open their art studios to the public the first two weekends in November.

Clay Carmichael is an award-winning author and illustrator. Clay was born and grew up in Chapel Hill, NC. She attended Hampshire College in Amherst, MA, and graduated summa cum laude in creative writing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her picture books, including Bear at the Beach, and her young adult novels have been translated into many languages. Her young adult novel, Wild Things, was nameda 2010 ALA Notable Children's Book and a 2010 Bank Street College Book of the Year/Starred. She lives, writes, and illustrates in Carrboro, NC, with her sculptor-husband, Mike Roig, and an ever-growing number of animals. Each year, she and her husband open their art studios to the public the first two weekends in November.

Editorial Reviews

2017-10-28
Three stories originally published as separate 40-page readers are repackaged as one longer chapter book.In 1996 Kirkus described the title story as "A depressing fable." Twenty years later the toy bear's longing for a perfect father is even less appealing, with its pat, predictable, and cloying resolution. In the second story, a "Used-Up Bear" (originally published in 1998) imagines the worst—being discarded. Other, newer stuffed animals compound his distress with predictions that his owner, a white girl named Clara, will choose one of them to replace him. In the end, Clara refurbishes Bear with a flannel "bear suit" done in a red that is rather jarring against the simple line-and-watercolor art of pastel blues, lilacs, and yellows that predominate. In "Lonesome Bear" (2001), this rather insecure stuffed animal panics when he wakes up and sees that Clara is gone. As he searches for her he meets a rabbit who helps him make "Lost Girl" posters and a cat who tries to convince both of them that being on your own is really better. Predictably, Clara has also been searching for Bear and brings him, along with the rabbit and the cat, home to a cozy dinner.While young ones will recognize Bear's fears and appreciate the reassuring endings, this Bear doesn't measure up to the most famous of anxiety-ridden bears. Winnie the Pooh is still a better choice for independent readers. (Fantasy. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews