Perhaps it's because they were the inspiration for cute and cuddly teddy bears, but bears have been a mainstay in children's literature, especially since that famous bear of "very little brain," Winnie the Pooh. Here are some of our favorite picture books that feature bears as the main character(s):

1. Though it's a long-time classic, I didn't discover Corduroy until adulthood, but my children and I have really enjoyed it. It's nostalgic in terms of the way that many children look at their toys -- as sentient beings that must be loved and given a good home. In the end, despite his missing button, Corduroy is united with a caring owner who loves him just the way he is.

2. Little Bear's Friend is a childhood favorite of mine, and I'm sure of many others who have also practiced their reading skills on these books. Written by Else Holmelund Minarik, they are illustrated by Maurice Sendak, which is why Little Bear bears a slight resemblance to Max from Where the Wild Things Are. This book contains four short chapters involving Little Bear's interactions with some of his friends, especially a little girl he meets named Emily, and her doll Lucy.

3. I grew up reading the popular Berenstain Bears series, and this book is something of a spin-off from that, but Bears in the Night is worded simply for preschool-aged children, and is all about demonstrating prepositions. When a bunch of bears are sleeping in bed, they hear a "Whoo!" sound, and creep out the window to investigate. They also go around the lake, through some woods, and up a hill -- then quickly back through it all again when the owl hoots loudly at them!

4. Bear Snores On, by Karma Wilson, is an adorable story written in rhyme (with a consistent meter too - yay!), in which a party develops in bear's den while he sleeps winter away. One after another, his friends show up and begin cooking and making merry -- but as the title says, bear snores on. Young children might enjoy repeating the refrain as it comes up. A fun winter tale for preschoolers.

5. By the talented Stead couple, Bear Has a Story to Tell is a cute story of bear and his friends which, like the book above, involves hibernation. Bear has a story to tell his friends, but they are all busy getting ready for winter. So bear helps them. By the time spring comes, bear can't remember his story! Can his friends help him?

Green sounds pretty simple, and it is (there are few words here), but I thought it was well executed. It is, as it sounds, a celebration of the many shades and forms of green in the world, from "jungle green," to "faded green" (paint), to "shaded green" (apple trees). The illustrations are vibrant and textured, and the pages include clever cut-outs that become something totally different once you turn the page and they show through the other side. 

My kids and I enjoyed this one and, for the record, there are certainly other colors in the illustrations as well (including a red stop sign as evidence of "never green.")

Scrounged From: Our local library

Format: Hardcover
Author/illustrator: Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Pages: 36
Content Advisory: None

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Grains of Sand is a short and sweet story of a boy and girl who bring sand home from the beach in their shoes, and then wonder what would happen if they planted it. If grains of sand were seeds, what kinds of things would they grow into if you threw them in your garden? Ice cream? Pinwheels?

It is fun to watch children's imagination at work (and inspire the imagination of those reading), and the simple illustrations are appealing -- black-and-white images with splashes of blue and yellow here and there.

(Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.)

Scrounged From: NetGalley

Format: Kindle
Author/illustrator: Sibylle Delacroix
Pages: 32
Content Advisory: None

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Merry Christmas, and thank you for following along with our Christmas book countdown! It's been fun reading and writing, and we hope this series has been fun and informative for you as well. For the complete list of titles we've reviewed over the past few weeks, see the beginning page here.

For Christmas day, as our countdown comes to an end, we've chosen a simple and reverent version of Silent Night, one of the loveliest carols of all. This book simply includes the text of the carol (printed with music at the end), with illustrations that portray the cools of winter and the warmth of Jesus' birth. The illustrations present a mix of elements from modern day as well as from 2,000 years ago.

Scrounged From: Our local library

Format: Hardcover
Author: Joseph Mohr
Illustrator: Maja Dusikova
Pages: 32
Content Advisory: None

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Dream Snow is a Christmas book for young children that features Eric Carle's trademark bold and colorful illustrations, as well as some partially transparent pages that allow children to guess which of a farmer's animals is hidden behind each blanket of "dream snow."

At the end, the farmer dresses up as Santa Claus to go decorate his tree. The inside of the back cover includes a button to push which makes a cheery chiming sound. While there isn't much of a narrative here, it's still a fun book for kids that has some wonderfully magical Christmas images -- especially the white snow against the dark blue night.

Scrounged From: Our local library

Format: Hardcover
Author/Illustrator: Eric Carle
Pages: 32
Content Advisory: None

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