A Junior Library Guild selection
"... the silliness will likely win the day and earn a few giggles, especially when kids double back to the first page and view the bear’s expression in a new light. Forms are simple and distinct, with a crisply outlined, rotund bear lumbering through the icy background in his bright red shoes, and the text is minimal as well, allowing audiences to supply their own exclamations for the fleeing animals. Use this to bring some surprising goofiness to a bear-themed or winter-themed storytime." - Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Brannen plays a sly joke with readers’ expectations... The author tells the tale in dialogue so spare that several spreads remain wordless, brushing a sometimes-deceptive sense of serenity over events by filling skies, seas, ice fields, and the big, simply drawn animal figures with subtle flushes of transparent color. Expressions are comically anthropomorphic throughout.
Laced with humor and, despite its minimalistic air, decipherable in more ways than one." - Kirkus
"The almost-wordless picture book presents a simple lesson about problem solving. Every image is a double spread done in watercolor pastels and clean line drawings that portray the arctic animals' distinct personalities." - Booklist
Reviews
Make your own shoe to help Bear learn how to tie and untie his shoelaces!
Activity sheet here