Cover Image: How to Be Human: A Bear’s Guide

How to Be Human: A Bear’s Guide

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Member Reviews

I loved the playful illustrations and the ways Bear learns to be human. This story comes with a side of recognizing deforestation without being heavy. I'd hoped for more silliness, but overall it was a sweet and enjoyable picture book.

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This is a cute picture book but has a very important message. The story is about a bear who is losing his home to climate change and urban sprawl. In order to adapt he tries to be human. Great illustrations and a meaningful take away. This book would work well as a bedtime read or introductory class discussion.

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Bear likes being a bear. But as his forest disappears he wonders if he should be human instead so he finds a human to teach him. He learns everything about being human but when he goes to the city he just doesn't fit. So he teaches his human how to be a bear! Together they teach the reader how to share the earth with all of the living creatures. Maybe we should all be more like bears.

The illustrations and story were both so cute. Excellent picture book.

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This was a cute and sweet story about a bear and their new human friend that has a FANTASTIC message about taking care of and sharing the environment. I loved the illustrations and the cute and friendly bear, and the toned-down color palette and sketched style. The illustrations were "bear-y" appealing. Obviously, I also appreciated all of the puns, and kids 4-8 will LOVE those as well!

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This is a lovely book! The illustrations are beautiful and my children found them very cute. My son and daughter loved the story and it kept their attention well. We all enjoyed the message. It was shared in a way that appealed to children. We really enjoyed the puns that were sprinkled throughout. We will definitely be reading this book again!

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How to Be Human: A Bear's Guide is a sweet book about unlikely friendships, finding our place in the world, and acceptance. It would be great in an elementary classroom because you can have a lot of dialogue with children about the various meanings/author's message. The illustrations were also lovely.


Thank you to NetGalley and Owl Kids Books for this advanced reader copy.

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My daughter Izzy loves this book! The illustrations are beautiful. She thought the ending was perfect. Her favorite part was the bear teaching the little girl.

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5 ⭐️

This story was very sweet and beautiful about friendship and how our human decisions can impact nature.

Bear loves to do bear things but with recent changes by humans his world has been changing. Less trees, less fish, and noisy. So the most logical thing to do is act like a human, Including making a human girl friend.

In the end this is a story about being aware of our actions and decisions for how our impacts animals such as bear, Bear can't just necessarily act like a human because it's not healthy for him,

I love the the illustrations in this book. They're very cute and detailed. The emotions for each character are clearly shown and littles will easily be able to understand,

Thank you to NetGalley and Owl Kids Books for this advanced reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own,

I will be publishing my review to my Instagram page the.littlest.bookworm and retail sites closer or at publication.

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How to Be Human: A Bear's Guide by Sophia Kolinas was such as cute read and I will definitely be using it in my classroom. I loved the bear and little girls' friendship and how they helped each other. This would be a great lesson starter on how humans can help the bear's habitat too.

Thank you to NetGalley and OwlKids Books for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

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This story was a fun read about a bear who thinks it would be easier to be a human, and his human friend. The things that they both learned from one another were sweet.

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This has to be the cutest children's book I've read in a long time. Wrapped up in a present of endearing and lovely illustrations, there is a message of accepting each other as we are and working together to make the world a better place. The friendship that develops between the bear and the girl is lovely in its simplicity and kindness. I was drawn in immediately and loved their facial expressions! Children would love seeing the detail in the illustrations and seeing the bear do human things and the girl do bear things. This is one to add to every library in every classroom, and it would make a great bedtime story!

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How to Be Human: A Bear’s Guide by Sophia Kolinas is a cute little children’s book about a bear who befriends a little girl. Beautiful illustrations and a great message for kids. This is a great teaching guide for children. I received a free copy of this ebook from NetGalley and Owlkids Books

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A bear who resides in a forest is discovering that it is hard to maintain his regular bear life these days. He is aware that there are fewer fish to feed him, fewer trees to give him shelter, and the noise level is very unnerving. He thinks it will be much easier if he adapts a human's lifestyle rather than a bear's.

He encounters the perfect little girl to help make his wish come to fruition. Together they hatch a plan to change Bear thus granting his wish, but things don't work out well. Sad and disappointed bear heads back to his forest in tears.

"The girl wiped his tears, blew his nose, and gave her friend a big bear-hug."

The girl then has a brilliant idea and pitches it to her hurting friend. Perhaps Bear should not learn from humans but maybe, just maybe, humans should learn from Bear! Will that be a winning strategy do you think?

The illustrations are magnificent! They add so much enrichment to the story. How to Be Human: A Bear's Guide, teaches the virtues of teamwork, cooperation and friendship. This inspirational book invites readers to see the value of exchanging ideas and learning from others. I love the book and highly, highly recommend it!

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my goodness this book was adorable! A bear is doing his bear things but soon the effects of humans interrupts his peace. He decides to befriend a human and learn their ways. What ensues is a friendship that reminds us we are best as we are and we need to help and protect each other.

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Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to review this children’s eBook title.

The illustrations and writings were fabulous!!! It was about sharing and how people are different, but you can still be friends. Great book to read to you get children when sharing becomes a problem, or even meeting others who are not just like themselves.

The illustrations were beautiful and colorful which are very eye-catching, especially for children and adults too! :)

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A great story paired with lovely illustrations makes for a winning combination. I appreciated that this story also had a message for youngsters on the environment, friendship, and individuality. A really wonderful read.

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What a sweet story about friends! I also liked the added bit about how humans impact the environment. How to Be Human is about a bear who's struggling to be a bear and gets help from a little girl to try to be human. The silliness will definitely appeal to kids. The illustrations were both adorable and beautiful!

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This story is a cute reminder of how humans have encroached on the homes of wild animals and about the beautiful things we can learn from animals and the natural world. Not too text heavy and beautifully illustrated this book would make a wonderful addition to any book collection.

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This is an absolutely delightful--and beautiful--children's picture book. It's also got a great and important message about learning from animals and de-centering humans (and capitalistic ideals in particular). Can't wait to give this to all my friends with kids!

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The illustrations are lovely in this book, but I wanted more from it. I wanted to see more of how the girl would help the bear restore it's home more.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.

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