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Holub, Joan

Bears Are Best!

48 pp. | Crown | August, 2023 | Trade ISBN 9780525645337 $18.99 | Library ISBN 9780525645344 $21.99 | Ebook ISBN 9780525645351 $11.99
(2) K-3 Illustrated by Laurie Keller. Holub and Keller (I Am the Shark!, rev. 7/21) are back with another apex-predator smackdown. Brown Bear boldly asserts that it's "the only bear in this book," a statement quickly challenged by Polar Bear. While Polar Bear has "paws and claws. Fur too," the fact that it lives in a snowy climate seems suspect to temperate-climate-dwelling Brown Bear. How can they both be bears? After they compare physical adaptations, diet, and behaviors, Brown Bear lets Polar Bear stay. "We are the only two bears in this book!" Not so fast! They're joined by six more bears, each one providing a species-specific description of its attributes. American Black Bear is "a great tree-climber, thanks to my strong, short, curved claws." Sloth Bear's claws are "good for ripping into trees and mounds to find insects." Keller's collage illustrations (traditional and digital) match the energy of Holub's good-natured text and make the goofy-looking bears easily distinguishable. When a suspicious eight-armed, tentacled "bear" tries to join the group, the bears unite and draw up a definitive list of "Eight Things That Make a Bear a Bear." A final double-page spread provides more information about each bear (and one octopus...and one not-a-bear koala); a list of related books and websites is appended. Will readers like this book? "Duh. Does a bear poop in the woods?"
Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2023

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