Snow Bear - Hardcover

PIERS HARPER is the illustrator of Fluffy Bunny, Little Owl, and Little Lamb. He lives in Cumbria, in the United Kingdom.

School Library Journal
(December 1, 2003; 0-439-54426-2)

PreS-In this bland story, a young polar bear leaves his cozy arctic den on the first day of spring to meet the world. His mother warns him to stay close, but exploring is so much fun that he soon becomes lost. A girl who is fishing feeds him and takes him home in her dogsled. Full-spread illustrations contain lots of white accentuated mostly with blues, greens, purples, and browns. Uncluttered backgrounds draw readers' eyes to the tactile animals created from fabrics that are soft to the touch. While the oversized spreads have some appeal, the little cub looks happy throughout the story, even when he is lost and hungry. This contradiction between text and illustrations may confuse young readers. Take a pass.-Kathleen Simonetta, Indian Trails Public Library District, Wheeling, IL Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly
(November 24, 2003; 0-439-54426-2)

Although the primary draw of this over-size novelty book, a Soft to Touch title like the author/illustrator's Little Lamb, are the texture-enhanced watercolor illustrations, the visual and verbal storytelling unfold with enough fluidity and assurance to attract a preschool audience on their own merits. Emerging from his ice cave for the first time, Little Snow Bear embraces his new world with gusto: "[He] rolled around in the soft, powdery snow. It was so much fun, he did it again and again!" Mother Bear allows him to go exploring, but soon the cub is lost-a predicament that introduces Little Snow Bear to a friendly seal, a reindeer and an ice-fishing Inuit girl, who hitches her dogs to her sled and drives Little Snow Bear home to his mother. Harper creates full-bleed polar landscapes with an architecture of ice and snow, punctuated with gossamer lavenders and blues. The illustrations' flocking is pleasantly unpredictable; sometimes there are fairly big velvety surfaces for fingers to explore, and other times, just smidgens. In either case the special effects serve as embellishments to a sturdy offering-or the icebergs on the cake. Ages 3-5. (Oct.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

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