Grin and Bear It

by Leo Landry, Leo Landry (Illustrator)

Overview

A sweet, gentle story about overcoming fear and the magic of laughter, perfect for beginning readers. 

Bear dreams of becoming a comedian. His jokes are unbearably funny, and he wants nothing more than to make his woodland friends laugh. There's just one hitch in the plan: Bear has stage fright. When Emmy, the comic hummingbird, discovers Bear's jokes, Bear learns that there's more than one way to achieve your dream. Told in seven short chapters. Young fans of comedy, aspiring actors, and shy kids will love this charming tale.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781607347798
Publisher:	Charlesbridge
Publication date:	09/09/2014
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	48
File size:	5 MB
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Leo Landry is the author/illustrator of several books for children, including Eat Your Peas, Ivy Louise!, and Space Boy. Leo is also the illustrator of Friends and Pals and Brother, Too. He lives in North Easton, Massachusetts.

Read an Excerpt

Bear had a dream. His dream was to make his friends laugh. He wanted to tell his jokes on Woodland Stage on a Saturday night. He imagined what his friends would say. "You’re so funny, Bear," Fawn would call.
"Great jokes!" Chuck would shout.
"Who knew our friend Bear was such a
comedian?" Bandit would ask. Bear had a problem, though. Whenever he spoke in front of a crowd, he got nervous. His knees knocked. His paws paused. His fur froze. He stuttered and could barely speak.

Table of Contents

1. A Dream
2. A Plan
3. Ready
4. Showtime
5. Genius
6. A New Friend
7. A New Dream

Editorial Reviews

The title of Landry's (Space Boy) spry chapter book could easily be a punch line from its protagonist's repertoire of pun-centric jokes. An aspiring stand-up comic, Bear dreams of making his friends laugh (" ‘You're so funny, Bear,' Fawn would call. ‘Great jokes!' Chuck would shout"). He's fine practicing his routine in front of a mirror, but his confidence crumbles whenever he speaks in front of a crowd: "His knees knocked. His paws paused. His fur froze." After much practice, Bear decides he's ready to perform onstage and invites his friends to the show—at which he bungles all his jokes. Mortified, he runs off to the local watering hole, but a hummingbird, also a would-be comedian, finds his discarded sheet of jokes and hatches a plan that will benefit them both. A deft balance of punchy, dialogue-driven text and expressive, appealingly naïf pencil-and-watercolor pictures make this well suited to newly independent readers. With humor and subtlety, Landry's words and art impart a smart message about partnership, ingenuity, and pursuing one's goals. Ages 5–8. (July)

Publishers Weekly

"Everyone—Bear, friends and readers—will laugh in the end."
—Kirkus Reviews

"Kids will appreciate the funny scenarios that reflect their own language mix-ups as well as the warm camaraderie among the animal friends."
—School Library Journal

"A honey of a book."
—The Horn Book Magazine

From the Publisher

Bear's dreams of being a standup comedian are stymied by his stage fright in this chapter book for new readers.

Bear knows what's funny, from riddles to puns to plays on words, and he longs to make it in the big time at Woodland Stage. When he finally gets his big chance and all his buddies are in the audience to cheer him on, Bear freezes. He mumbles the words to his jokes, flubs the punch lines and eventually runs off the stage and into the forest, humiliated. His dreams crushed, Bear falls asleep in a puddle of his own tears. Lucky for Bear, though, he finds a new dream and some new friends along the way. Landry's droll pencil-and-watercolor illustrations are filled with humorous graphic elements and little details that will encourage children to slow down and enjoy the text and the pictures. The seven very short chapters move along quickly, helping new readers gain confidence. With more words per page than generally seen in an early reader, this is an ideal bridge to slightly more challenging books.

Everyone—Bear, friends and readers—will laugh in the end. (Early reader. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews