Review Detail

Brown Bears

Kids Fiction 65

Bear Cubs' First Two Years

November 14, 2024

Overall rating

4.0

Plot

3.0

Characters

3.0

Writing Style

5.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

5.0

After going into her den for the winter to hibernate, a mother bear emerges with two small bear cubs in the spring. They must learn how to find food, leave their scent for other bears, and scratch off bugs, all foundational activities that will serve them well in their lives but also help them grow stronger as cubs. When fall arrives, the cubs and the mother eat as much as they can so that they can once again hibernate. The mother builds another den, and the three settle in for another winter. When the emerge, they must find food, and sometimes must contend with male bears who might find the cubs to be a tasty snack! The small family stays together for the summer, growing and picking up more skills, but in the fall, the cubs will need to start life on their own.

Good Points

This reminded me a bit of a Little Golden Book about a litter of puppies that my children had years ago; there's lots of information, often in italics at the bottoms of the pages, but also a charming story that takes us through the first few years of the cubs' lives. There is a note from the author in the back, as well as a map of where brown bears can be found. There is even a very short index, which is somewhat unusual in a picture book.

The real draw here is Lamour's illustration. While this employs mostly brown, green, and tan, there are some touches of red that really pop. The bears are very solidly colored and have adorable expressions on their faces, but the backgrounds are very dreamy and translucent. The page with the bears eating berries could be framed and hung in a forest themed nursery!

Crumpton is also the author of Everything You Know About Sharks is Wrong and Everything You Know About Dinosaurs is Wrong, as well as How to Chat Chicken, Gossip Gorilla, Babble Bee, Gab Gecko, and Talk in 66 Other Animal Languages. This is a shorter book, and much more accessible to younger readers as a read aloud. Having read it, I sort of want to hunt down similar picture books on lions, giraffes, and tigers to assemble a whole zoo of animal picture books!