Bears Are Best!: The scoop about how we sniff, sneak, snack, and snooze!

by Joan Holub, Laurie Keller (Illustrator)

Overview

It's panda-monium in this rollicking nonfiction picture book about bears habits, habitats, and more. Perfect for the curious cub in your house!

Hello! I am Brown Bear, and in this book, you'll get to learn about ME—the only bear in the forest!

Hold on a minute. Polar Bear here, and I am the only bear in this book. Though I live in the Arctic, not a forest.

Hey now, Spectacled Bear here, and we are bearly-scratching the surface. There are tons of great bears to learn and laugh with in this fact-filled picture book!

New York Times bestselling author Joan Holub teams up with award-winning illustrator Laurie Keller for a paw-sitively hilarious nonfiction picture book about bear classification!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780525645337
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	08/15/2023
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	1,091,808
Product dimensions:	10.38(w) x 10.31(h) x 0.39(d)
Lexile:	AD530L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Joan Holub has authored and/or illustrated over 200 children's books, including the Goddess Girls series and the Heroes in Training series (with Suzanne Williams); the New York Times bestselling picture book Mighty Dads, illustrated by James Dean; Little Red Writing, illustrated by Melissa Sweet; and Zero the Hero, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld. Find Joan online at joanholub.com.

Laurie Keller is the author and illustrator of many books, including The Scrambled States of America, Potato Pants!, Arnie the Doughnut, Do Unto Otters: A Book About Manners, the Adventures of Arnie the Doughnut chapter book series, and We Are Growing!, part of the Elephant & Piggie Like Reading! series and winner of the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award. Learn more about Laurie on her website lauriekellerbooks.com.

Editorial Reviews

Informative and bear-y funny.” —Kirkus Reviews

"Reflecting the amusing tone of the characters’ banter while clearly showing the bears’ varied physical features, the digital art boosts the book’s appeal." —Booklist

From the Publisher

2023-05-09
Bears strut their stuff in this species overview.

This tongue-in-cheek introduction to the bear family follows the pattern of the creators’ I Am the Shark (2021). Each bear believes it is unique but discovers other ursine species. In order, readers 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. Readers learn about their distinguishing physical features, habits and habitats, and favorite foods. Finally, a bear-masked octopus tries to join the group, which leads to them discussing bears’ many similarities, including general shape, four five-clawed paws, fur, speed, curiosity, good sense of smell, big appetite, and shared membership in the mammal family. The author concludes with a summary of the eight species and reminders that bears can be dangerous but are also threatened around the world. Lighthearted collage illustrations feature cartoon animals with large eyes and clear facial expressions as well as body language. Readers and lapsitters will be particularly amused by the extra details—such as other animals—but the illustrations are large enough to show to a group as well. The design makes good use of the suspense of page turns to keep the narrative flowing. This should appeal to the same audience that enjoys Maxwell Eaton’s The Truth About Bears(2018), which boasts a similar mix of fact and fantasy. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Informative and bear-y funny. (further reading, websites) (Informational picture book. 5-9)

Kirkus Reviews