A Story for Bear

A Story For Bear, written by Dennis Haseley, was completely over looked by the Caldecott Committee. Truly an injustice has been done to this wonderful story. A bear stumbles upon a young woman reading near her cabin. The bear doesn't understand what the young woman is doing. He is enchanted nonetheless and keeps returning to watch her. One day the woman invites the bear to sit near her. When the bear does, she proceeds to read out loud to him. A lovely friendship ensues between them as the woman continues reading out loud to the bear each day. When the time comes for the woman to go away, she leaves all of her books for the bear. One by one he collects each book and takes them back to his cave. The illustrations, by Jim LaMarche, are warm and convey a sense of mystery and wonder. As I read A Story For Bear I was taken on an emotional journey. Children will be too.Preston McClear...

One summer day, a bear strayed far from home, and found himself in a clearing, watching a woman reading. "Sometimes, as she gazed at the book, she laughed out loud. Other times, she lowered it and looked away, but without really seeing anything, he thought. Still other times, she appeared afraid and held it tightly, And once, when the sun slanted through the trees, he saw her place it gently on her lap and close her eyes..." The bear was mesmerized, and came back day after day to watch the woman read. One day the woman notices the bear and calls to him. He cautiously lumbers over near her chair, lies down, and she begins to read aloud. "The bear gazed up at her as she said the words and turned the pages. He couldn't understand any of what she was saying. But as he listened to the sound of her voice, happiness washed over him like waves." And so the summer continued, until one day, as autumn approached, the bear arrived at her chair in the woods, and she was gone. "There, under the tree where she usually sat, were her books. There were many of them, more than he had ever seen, lying on a cloth, fallen leaves and pinecones on their covers." Slowly and carefully he took each book back to his cave. "And all that winter, before she came back in the spring, whenever he put his nose to the pages or touched the covers with his claws, she was there..." Dennis Haseley's eloquent text is quiet and heartwarming, and filled with magic. But it's Jim LaMarche's engaging, dreamy and expressive artwork, in soft and appealing earthtones, that really makes this picture book stand out. Together word and art send a gentle message about the joys of reading and being read to, that won't be lost on young children. Perfect for youngsters 3-7, A Story For Bear makes a wonderfully soothing and reassuring bedtime story that little ones will beg to read again and again.

I am a 50+ year-old collector of children's books, and this one is now at the top of my list of favorites -- I would nominate it for every book award! Anyone who has been read aloud to, or has enjoyed reading to someone else, will appreciate the bond between the woman and the bear she reads to at her cabin one summer. The bear, like a young child who cannot understand all the words read to him, still feels their magic and warmth, and is no less involved in the woman's stories than a more sophisticated reader who can analyse narrative point-of-view or the logical intricacies of plot structure. The letter from the woman's parents which the bear finds at the beginning of the story lets the reader know that this woman has enjoyed this special cabin since childhood, and that she apparently returns here every summer. For the bear, this paper, with its mysterious marks on it, becomes a special and almost sacred object. Similarly, the woman's books, which she leaves behind for the bear in the fall, become treasures which he delicately takes to his cave and which fill his winter dreams with warmth until the woman will return to read to him again. In an almost mythic way, this story communicates what is most essential about reading -- the experience of being swept away by the mysterious power of the spoken word, and treasuring the moments when we shared this experience with someone else. I love the story of this book, but I really was most drawn to it by the illustrations which are superlative in every way -- especially the rendering of this sweet. perplexed, and often astonished bear. I now am ordering another copy for a friend, who is also over 50 and shares my love of books and cabins in pine forests.

As an elementary teacher, I rate this book as excellent for curricular activities on feelings and friendship. It is beautifully illustrated and a tender story for grades K-3.

I'm not in the habit of reviewing children's books, but something special compels me to write a little about this one. I got this handsome hardcover as part of a payment for some contract work, and I was touched by the story's tender narrative and peaceable message.The bear of the title finds a note in the woods. One day, he notices a woman reading some books outside of her summer cabin. The bear comes closer until he develops a relationship with the woman, and she reads to him every day until she has to leave for the winter. She leaves the bear her books, and when he hibernates with them, he is reminded of his friend and the fond memories they shared.I'm not sure what's so touching about such a simple story, and my summary hardly does it justice. I think it may be partially due to Jim Lamarche's illustrations, a kind of child-like (but excellent) kind of pastel crayon/colored pencil motif that manages to touch on the primeval aspects of youth still dormant in all of us jaded, twenty-something adults. A Story for Bear has just the right blend of magic and emotion to make it a favorite for adults and kids alike. I would certainly have no objections reading it twenty, thirty, or a hundred times to my youngsters (when I have them!) Until then, I'm content to browse through it myself, and let my mind wander back to the innocence and wonder of a world where bears and people read together, and the simplest of feelings mean the entire universe.