The Bear

Ages 5 & up. An educational picture book about bears. Each spread answers a basic question, such as where bears live or how they spend their days. The soft-colored illustrations of this fierce creature in its natural habitat are so soothing. I almost wanted to settle down for hibernation when I was finished! While the book mostly focuses on brown bears, there is also a nice illustration of the seven species of bears all together that gives you a sense of scale. Brown bears look so tiny next to polar bears! I'd recommend this book to little animal lovers who want to learn more about the real creature that inspired the teddy bears.

The Bear by Renne (Renée Rahir) is a young reader non-fiction book, the first in what appears to a be a new series, Animals in the Wild. Using a question and answer format, paired with realistic but still friendly illustrations the author teaches young readers and listeners about the brown bear, from hibernation to what they eat or their social structure.  This book will definitely be accompanying us on our next zoo trip. There is also a fun spread about teddy bear and the role of bears in tales and myths. the last page is a vocabulary list, albeit the word are a bit of an odd assortment (congener, plantigrade, litter) it allows for more discovery and conversation, if not just a winning Scrabble play. I look forward to the next book in 2017, wolves!

This is not the typical children's book that I would normally take a look at but I am so glad I did.  I was engaged from the outset and was not disappointed as I continued to read it.
This book takes the young reader through the life of bears, where they live, what they look like and how they get along.  I found that I learnt quite a lot about bears and *Spoiler Alert* was surprised to find out that bears are considered grown at three years of age and start their own lives.
Early in the book is a white page with a bear and text describing different parts of the bear, this is by far my favorite page in the book because it is both visually stunning and informative.