Product Description

Snug and warm, curled and furry, Old Bear sleeps.

Red, orange, and brown leaves fly through the air, and it is snowing hard. Old Bear doesn't notice.

Old Bear is dreaming about being a cub again. He is dreaming about the beauty of the world. He is dreaming of everything he loves about the forest that is his home.

Turn the page and you will see!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #54845 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-01
• Released on: 2008-08-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 32 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780061552052
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From School Library Journal
Starred Review. PreSchool-K—Henkes cleverly begins his story on the front jacket. Against a backdrop of red leaves and drifting snowflakes, a large and endearing molasses-colored bear, defined by sturdy dark brown lines, strides across the page. His journey continues through the opening spreads: it is obvious that this creature knows exactly where he is heading. By the time the story actually begins, Old Bear has found his den and lies sound asleep, oblivious to the swirl of winter around him. Dreams comfort him: once more a cub and surrounded by the colors of spring, he naps in a giant pink crocus. His dreams turn to summer where a daisy sun shines in the sky, leaves appear as butterflies, and clouds rain tasty blueberries. Old Bear dreams on through the seasons. Then, one day he awakens, stretches, and heads out into the real world where he is met with flowering trees, butterflies and tulips, and a glistening lake. Now, Old Bear is part of the wonder. As he did in Kitten's First Full Moon, Henkes has created a thoroughly delightful character filled with curiosity and sweetness and placed him in a simple tale that unfolds with a natural, rhythmical pace. And to fill out his cyclical story, the artist provides autumnal front endpapers and contrasting vernal back endpapers. Opportunities to introduce the seasons, colors, and animal hibernation abound. Old Bear will enrapture young listeners for years to come.—Barbara Elleman, Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Amherst, MA
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From Booklist
*Starred Review* Henkes returns to the artistic style of his Caldecott Medal winner, Kitten’s First Full Moon (2004), and A Good Day (2007) in another picture-book celebration of simple, pure joy. All winter long, while snow falls outside his den, Old Bear lies silent and still in a deep sleep. In his dreams, though, he’s an active explorer who roams the woods, savoring each season’s pleasures: spring’s blooms, summer’s berries, fall’s fiery colors, and winter’s blazing stars. When Old Bear finally wakes, he finds a glorious and very real spring world. As in so many of Henkes’ books, nothing is superfluous. Every word, line, color choice, and composition element feels essential and fits beautifully into a common theme. The circle of the seasons, so clearly illustrated in the exuberant images, is echoed throughout the book, even in the text’s cyclical rhythms: “Old Bear slept and dreamed, dreamed and slept.” The elemental words and graceful pacing make this a perfect read-aloud for preschoolers. They’ll want to linger over the scenes of Old Bear’s whimsical dreams, rendered in bold outlines and color washes that move with the seasons from pastel spring through icy-blue winter. Young children already know what Old Bear discovers: the lines between imagined and real worlds are blurry, and each place is filled with wonderment. --Gillian Engberg

About the Author

Kevin Henkes and Laura Dronzek previously collaborated on the picture book Oh! They live with their children in Madison, Wisconsin. Kevin Henkes is the creator of many distinguished books for children, including Kitten's First Full Moon (winner of the Caldecott Medal), Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, and Chrysanthemum. His novels for young people include Olive's Ocean (a Newbery Honor Book) and Bird Lake Moon.

Kevin Henkes vive en Madison, Wisconsin. La primera luna llena de Gatita es su trigesimocuarto libro para niÑos; todos fueron publicados por Greenwillow Books. Sus novelas incluyen el libro de Honor Newbery Olive's Ocean. Entre sus libros ilustrados se cuentan el Éxito de librerÍa No. 1 del New York Times Wemberly Worried, el libro de Honor Caldecott Owen, y el apreciado Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse.

Customer Reviews

Encourages Imagination
Reviewed by Cayden (age 4) and Max (age 2) Aures and Mom for Reader Views (8/08)

"Old Bear" is the story of a bear hibernating in the winter and dreaming that he is a cub again. He dreams of sleeping in a giant crocus, clouds raining blueberries, and all of the leaves being butterflies.

Max: "Bear sleeping."
Cayden: "He is hibernating because it is winter and that is what bears do when it snows."

Max: "Sleep in flower!"
Cayden: "That is a real big flower if it can hold that bear!"

Cayden: "Why is the sun made out of that flower? And look at all of those butterflies!"

Max: "Blueberries!"
Cayden: "I would like it if it rained blueberries! We like blueberries a lot!"

Cayden: "Why is everything yellow, brown and orange? I wouldn't like it if that was how everything looked."

Max: "Stars!"
Cayden: "They are all different colors in the sky!"

Cayden: "He woke up now and winter is done."

Cayden: "My favorite part was when it rained blueberries!"
Max: "Me too!"

Parent's comments:

"Old Bear" by Kevin Henkes is a creative book that encourages children to think outside of the box. My boys had a great time imagining a world where all of the leaves were butterflies, and where it rained blueberries! The illustrations in the book did an excellent job to complement the storyline and we really had a fun time being a part of "Old Bear's" dream sequence!

Father Bear
Snug and warm, Old Bear sleeps for winter. Dreaming of spring and being a cub again, he travels through a daisy sun summer and yellow and orange autumn to an ice covered winter. Old Bear sleeps and dreams only to melt away the winter into spring. He wakes up to a beautiful spring day, as if no time has passed. This father bear story will be loved by 2-5-year-old children the whole year long.

Old bear
I loved this book. Simple idea but richly presented.You could imagine being there with OLD BEAR as he slept and dreamed. Recommended.