As a digital subscriber, you’ll receive unlimited access to Horn Book web exclusives and extensive archives, as well as access to our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database.
To access other site content, visit The Horn Book homepage.
To continue you need an active subscription to hbook.com.
Subscribe now to gain immediate access to everything hbook.com has to offer, as well as our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database, which contains tens of thousands of short, critical reviews of books published in the United States for young people.
Thank you for registering. To have the latest stories delivered to your inbox, select as many free newsletters as you like below.
No thanks. Return to article
72 pp.
| Princeton |
March, 2022 |
TradeISBN 978-1-64896-119-9$18.95
(2)
K-3
Bear lives in a nice house with a favorite chair, spends time with good friends, and loves "the smell of freshly baked strawberry pie," but sometimes even a sweet life needs upending. A change in the wind prompts restless Bear to pack his "most treasured possessions" and leave in search of "something new." Clad in red pants and yellow galoshes, Bear doesn't have a destination in mind; instead, he lets the journey guide him, first to the home of Rabbit, whose roof he helps fix, and then onward until he meets Mouse, who lives in a valley with a stream and blueberry patch, which becomes Bear's new favorite spot and home. Dubuc (Little Cheetah's Shadow, rev. 7/20) thoughtfully addresses the complexities involved in giving up the safety of the known for the unknown: it can be scary ("What if I have made a terrible mistake?") but also allows for personal growth and reward. Details in the art acknowledge the need for comfort during upheaval; some of those "treasured possessions," which remind Bear of his old friends, reappear throughout. The mainly green and brown hues of the woodland setting in Dubuc's precise pencil, colored-pencil, and watercolor illustrations reflect the naturalness of Bear's desire for change.