Why am I passionate about this?

The truth? I’m scared of bears! But learning about them has helped me become a less fearful hiker. Turns out, bears spread seeds and salmon nutrients in their droppings. They also help maintain populations of prey species like deer. I don’t want those jobs. So, thank you, bears! The more kids learn about wildlife, the more comfortable they’ll be outdoors. And the better planet citizens they’ll become! Beyond bears, I’ve authored 200+ children’s books, writing everything from Greek Mythology take-offs (Goddess Girls middle grade series of 30 books) to math (Zero the Hero picture book) to a fractured fairy tale about how to write a story (Little Red Writing)!


I wrote

Bears Are Best! The scoop about how we sniff, sneak, snack, and snooze!

By Joan Holub, Laurie Keller (illustrator),

Book cover of Bears Are Best! The scoop about how we sniff, sneak, snack, and snooze!

What is my book about?

In Bears Are Best! – a fact-filled, pawsitively silly picture book – your curious cubs will learn about bear behavior,…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Truth About Bears: Seriously Funny Facts About Your Favorite Animals

Joan Holub Why did I love this book?

Eaton’s bear book does a nice job of blending simple nonfiction info about bears with the occasional bear joke.

For instance, within a two-page spread on bear safety, he combines fact blurbs with some silly speech bubbles. His bear characters are simply drawn and appealing, and the pages are colorful. If your young readers like this one, consider trying his other books on Hippos, Butterflies, Elephants as well!

By Maxwell Eaton III,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Truth About Bears as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

Did you know that polar bears smell seals through the ice and snow in order to find and eat them? Did you know that when a bear is born, it weighs less than a picture book? Did you know that bears sleep all winter and don't goto the bathroom while they hibernate? Discoverthese facts and many more in this nonfiction picture -book series that injects humour and bright, vivid animals into popular subjects like bears and hippos.


Book cover of Giant Pandas

Joan Holub Why did I love this book?

Gail Gibbons is a well-known name in nonfiction. Librarians and teachers often look to her many books for basic info about animals, plants, our Earth, and more.

Although this isn’t a book with my favorite thing—humor—young readers will likely gobble up the simply related facts about pandas’ characteristics, eating habits, and habitat. In my experience, kids are pretty excited about pandas because these bamboo-eating bears are sooo cute!

By Gail Gibbons,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Giant Pandas as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

Giant pandas: they are indigenous to China and are adored the world over. But they are more than a bundle of fluff and squeaks. Giant pandas are energetic climbers and swimmers. In one year, they may eat around 10,000 pounds of bamboo. And people in China have worked together to create protected areas for giant pandas to live peacefully.

Discover a detailed introduction to giant pandas - including baby panda development - in this beautifully illustrated nonfiction picture book. Gail Gibbons adds another book to her widespread collection of nonfiction for young readers of all levels, and introduces the topic…


Book cover of Bears

Joan Holub Why did I love this book?

Carney’s book is part of the National Geographic Kids series, and is meant for independent, fluent readers.

So it’s for kids who are older than those who might read my bear book and the other books on my list. Still, Carney’s book is well-organized, interesting, and definitely worth a read.

If your cubs enjoy this one, consider trying another one in this National Geographic series—Ink!—by Stephanie Drimmer. After watching (aka sobbing my way through) the film My Octopus Teacher, I read Ink! to learn more about Octopuses.

By Elizabeth Carney,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Bears as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 6, 7, and 8.

What is this book about?

Get ready for a walk on the wild side in this image-packed book all about bears! Kids will learn about different kinds of bears, where they live, and what they do. This level 3 reader is written in an easy-to-grasp style to encourage the animal lovers of today and scientists of tomorrow!


Book cover of Growl! A Book about Bears

Joan Holub Why did I love this book?

Growl! starts out by mentioning Goldilocks and the Three Bears eating porridge, and aligns that with the fact that real bears are hungry all the time.

Chapters include: What Do Bears Eat? (Short answer: Their Diets differ.); How Do Bears Find Food? (Their big noses are a big help!); and When Are Baby Bears Born? (Short answer: mid-winter.). This is part of the Cartwheel Books Scholastic Hello Reader Science series, and is labeled for grades 1 & 2. A worthwhile quick read!

By Melvin Berger,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Growl! A Book about Bears as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 6, 7, and 8.

What is this book about?

A simple primer with full-color photographs explains what bears look like, how they hunt, what they eat, how they sleep during the winter, and how their cubs are born and raised. Original.


Book cover of Winnie-the-Pooh

Joan Holub Why did I love this book?

The Winnie the Pooh books are popular in my house, and make a nice companion to nonfiction and fiction/nonfiction-blend bear books you may try on your kids.

So…Winnie the Pooh is a teddy bear, a character based on a toy bear that belonged to author A. A. Milne’s son, Christopher Robin. Winnie lives in tranquil Sussex, England, and doesn’t have much in common with real bears. With one notable exception.

Like Brown Bear—the star of my bear book—Winnie loves honey! 

By A.A. Milne, Ernest H. Shepard (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Winnie-the-Pooh as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

An award-winning production, with an all-star cast including Stephen Fry and Judi Dench, brings to life one of the best-loved children's books of all time.

Packed full of fun and adventure with Winnie-the-Pooh and all his friends in the Hundred Acre Forest. This is a wonderful dramatisation of Winnie-the-Pooh with original music. This captivating adaptation conveys all the magic and humour of AA Milne's classic stories.

The cast includes the following stars:

Pooh - Stephen Fry
Piglet - Jane Horrocks
Eeyore - Geoffrey Palmer
Kanga (and Narrator) - Judi Dench
Roo - Finty Williams
Rabbit - Robert Daws
Owl -…


Explore my book 😀

Bears Are Best! The scoop about how we sniff, sneak, snack, and snooze!

By Joan Holub, Laurie Keller (illustrator),

Book cover of Bears Are Best! The scoop about how we sniff, sneak, snack, and snooze!

What is my book about?

In Bears Are Best! – a fact-filled, pawsitively silly picture book – your curious cubs will learn about bear behavior, habitat, characteristics, and more.

Hello! I’m Brown Bear. I’m the only bear in this book! Grrr! That’s bearspeak for: What are you? Go away. This forest is mine! I’m Polar Bear. I live in the Arctic in ice and snow. I was in this book first! Turns out we’re not the only bears around here. With eight bear species in one book (and in the entire world), it’s Panda-monium! Learn eight things that make a bear a bear, enjoy some bear hugs, and take a bear-nap. A perfect book to prepare your young ones for a visit to a natural history museum!