We need more books with disability and chronic illness reps! This is a great one, a Beauty and the Beast retelling that just might be my favorite version of the story.
The two main characters, Anwen and Leon, are both likable and sympathetic. They’re each broken in their own way, one cursed to live as a bear (he really hates that fuzzy tail!), and the other scarred across her face and with mobility issues. Their banter is fun, and they’re clearly equals—a great match.
I also like that Anwen is a sorceress and has another love interest. She’s a strong-yet-soft female lead. A wizard’s counsel, an Otherworld, and a snarky shape-shifting sidekick are other excellent additions to the “tale as old as time.”
The only one who can free him is the girl he’s hurt the most.
Cursed for a youthful accident which maimed a young woman, Léon Beauregard roams his mountain as a bear, clinging to the scraps of his humanity. Too bad it’s not working. Every day he loses a little more of himself to the bear and his stupid fuzzy tail. But when Léon comes across Anwen, an enchanter scarred from an accident she doesn’t remember, she promises to free him, because she believes no one deserves this sort of punishment, no matter their crime.
When I first started writing in English, which is my second language, I was reluctant to share my work with others. I was terrified they would find it lacking. It takes a lot of effort and research to write authentically for a foreign audience. I studied creative writing at different universities around the world to gain knowledge and experience. I published short stories and poems in online and print journals. Bit by bit, I gathered the courage to submit my first picture book manuscript.
We often fear change and it’s for this reason that we don’t dare try something new. We’re afraid we won’t be able to go back to the way things were before in case we don’t succeed. It’s important to realize that the people who truly appreciate and love us will always support our endeavors and welcome us back regardless of whether we succeeded or failed. The Bear and the Piano relates this message in a gentle and inspiring way for me.
The first book in the best-selling, award-winning 'Bear and the Piano' trilogy.
Winner of the Waterstones Children's Book Prize, Illustrated Book Category for 2016
Over 120,000 copies have been sold of The Bear and the Piano in the UK.
One day, a young bear stumbles upon something he has never seen before in the forest. As time passes, he teaches himself how to play the strange instrument, and eventually the beautiful sounds are heard by a father and son who are picnicking in the woods. The bear goes with them on an incredible journey to New York, where his piano…
I
adore books about animals, but I also love magical realism. Emory’s Gift is the
perfect blend of both.
Plus, it takes place in North Idaho, where I live! It’s
technically aimed at middle grade but can absolutely be enjoyed by any age. It
centers around 13-year-old Charlie, a boy who’s recently lost his mother, has a
silent, grieving father, and who ends up befriending a grizzly bear of all
things.
It sounds a bit implausible, but it’s really not. I found it uplifting,
poignant, and oh-so relatable. I loved it!
From W. Bruce Cameron, the author of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling novel A Dog's Purpose, which is now a major motion picture!
After 13-year-old Charlie Hall's mother dies and his father retreats into the silence of grief, Charlie finds himself drifting lost and alone through the brutal halls of junior high school.
But Charlie Hall is not entirely friendless. In the woods behind his house, Charlie is saved from a mountain lion by a grizzly bear, thought to be extinct in northern Idaho.
And this very unusual bear will change Charlie's life forever.
I never knew Turkeys had so much personality—that is until I lived with a family high in the Andes Mountains of Peru, and met their turkey Pavito. When they scraped leftovers into a trough for their dogs, Pavito would come running too (certain that he was just “one of the dogs”). He would chase me around the courtyard or sit nearby making strange gurgling noises. He became the star character in my books. As a teacher and mother of 5, I have seen which picture books young readers respond to best—those they connect to, laugh at, remember, and which hold their attention.
Thanks for Nothing! Gets a big laugh on every page—and that is what makes this a big hit with young readers! If you aren’t familiar with Bruce, the grumpy bear, go meet him in his first book, Mother Bruce. In this book he is making a surprise fall feast for the mice, but, at every turn, his ingredients are ruined and when it’s time for the feast there is nothing to eat. But nevertheless, the whole crew (including a wet moose that joined the crowd), are grateful for that nothing (and a fun day)!
I once spotted a mama black bear and her cubs on a camping trip in Manitoba, Canada. I kept a safe distance watching in awe as the cubs climbed trees. I’ve been fascinated with bears ever since. Most of the books I publish center around strong themes of family, friendship, making a difference in the world, and many have a bear as a secondary character. I think there’s always room for more bear stories in the world, don’t you?
Before I was a published author, I had a critique with author Bonny Becker on one of my works-in-progress. She’s a generous writer who knows a lot about creating characters readers truly care about. I love her comedic writing style and this is one of my favorite books. I love the persistence of Mouse in winning over curmudgeonly Bear in this unlikely tale of friendship. If you like this book, check out the other adventures in the series.
"A Visitor for Bear has the feel of a classic, and it’s so cozy no parent could object to reading it aloud every night." — The New York Times Book Review (starred review)
Bear is quite sure he doesn’t like visitors. He even has a sign. So when a mouse taps on his door one day, Bear tells him to leave. But the mouse — who keeps popping up in the most unexpected places — just won’t go away! Cheery persistence wears down the curmudgeonly Bear in a wry comedy of manners that ends in a most unlikely friendship.
I am the author-illustrator of funny picture books for kids, including the interactive book, Animals Go Vroom!. As an illustrator, I revel in creating jokes and storylines in the pictures that kids can follow along with by themselves. And as a mother of two small children myself, I know first-hand the magical experience of reading books with toddlers that keep them guessing and giggling along the way.
This funny picture book with underwear-shaped holes follows Polar Bear and his friend Mouse as they look for Polar Bear’s underwear. Readers see a peek of the underwear on the next page and have to guess whose underwear they could be. The guessing game aspect of the book plus the topic of underwear make this a really fun read for toddlers. I also love the surprise ending which will have you examining the illustrations throughout the book again. You can also use this book to encourage potty training because it celebrates all kinds of fun underwear.
Polar Bear has lost his underwear! Where could it be? There's only one thing to do: Remove the book's underwear-shaped bellyband to find the missing pair! Is that Polar Bear's underwear? No, it's Zebra's-see the colourful stripes? What about that itty-bitty pair? No, those belong to Butterfly! And so the search continues, with every page revealing an animal in eye-popping undies. This laugh-out-loud, one-of-a-kind novelty book from Japanese design talents tupera tupera will surprise and amuse children and their parents, all while affirming the importance of putting on your underwear.
Since an early age, I loved getting lost in a good story and knew I wanted to be a writer one day. As an adult, I tried writing in many genres but it was when I had my children that I knew I wanted to write children’s bedtime stories. I loved that special time at the end of a busy day when I could snuggle down with my children and get lost in a story with them. I now write children's bedtime stories for a podcast called Koko Sleep. The stories are written in a soothing way and are designed to help the listeners drift easily to sleep.
This is one of the first books I read to my children at bedtime. It's an amusing rhyming story with a wonderfully funny ending. My children loved joining in with the rhymes and would add funny voices for each animal. They always pretended to be surprised by the ending and would try not to giggle too early when I turned to the last page. This is a family favourite and brings back great memories.
I grew up on a diet of crazy stories by Edward Lear, Dr. Seuss, and Hillaire Belloc amongst others. They instilled in me a lifelong love of books and reading. Dad created whacky stories for me every bedtime too. Little wonder I now write my own zany tales. Greedy Mrs. MacCready and the rest of the Ever So series, plus Bears Don’t Eat Egg Sandwiches, are direct descendants of the stories I loved as a child!
Experience as a classroom teacher gave me many insights into the minds of young children. I love going back into schools to read my books to a new audience. Hope you enjoy them too!
When Lily looks out of her bedroom window she gets the best surprise – a doggy! But this is no ordinary doggy. There’s been an escape from the zoo…
Readers know from the outset Lily’s new pet is really a bear. Hear them shout ‘but he’s not a dog!’
Even Lily notices he’s quite big ‘for a dog’, but insists on taking him for a walk and teaching him tricks, none of which he is any good at. Unfortunately, the zookeeper recognises his bear from the ‘lost doggy’ poster Lily’s mum makes her display. She must give him back.
A beautifully illustrated story, full of optimism and a little girl’s irrepressibly wonderful outlook on life. It will have you laughing all the way from beginning to the cheerful final twist.
Charming, funny, beautifully illustrated this is an hilarious picture book that will resonate with dog lovers, both adults and children, as they read it together. It is full of visual jokes and it comes complete with a fold-out poster When Lily looks out of her bedroom window, she gets the best surprise ever - a doggy! But this is no normal doggy, this is actually an escaped bear. Lily's adventure with doggy is told through a poster Lily has made, advertising that she's found a lost dog. Sadly a zookeeper comes to collect Doggy. But the next day, Lily has…
As a Children’s Librarian for over 30 years, my passion has been for the sound of language. I want children to hear rhythmic, joyful language that will make them fall in love with words. My own career as a storyteller and author continues this same love of language. I try to write my own picture books in such a way that any adult who picks them up will read them out with the same kind of verve and joy that I put into them.
This is a perfect, soothing lullaby. “Bears are sleeping, deer are sleeping, snow is piling high. Even hungry wolves are sleeping…hush and bye you bye..” Soft, blurry illustrations of sleeping animals in a snowy Russian countryside. Notes for the lullaby run along the bottom of the pages. My daughters loved this gentle bedtime book, a last…quiet book before kissing them goodnight.
Of all the lessons that we should be teaching kids, I think kindness should be at the top of everyone’s list. If people treated every human and sentient being with kindness and compassion the world would be a better place, which is something we all want. The more we can illustrate this for children the better so that they can understand that we are all in this together and that everyone deserves respect.
Jory John is a hilarious writer and this book is no exception. A bear forgets something but he can’t figure out what (it’s his pants). We see him in his white cotton underwear, but it’s never actually stated so while he mulls over the problem to other animals in the forest, the reader laughs waiting to see what will happen. No one tells him what the problem is. But his good friend, Anders puts on underwear too. He proclaims to the other animals in the forest that it’s cool and the new style. A dose of kindness goes a long way in this funny and surprising tale.
Jeff the bear has definitely forgotten something. He ate his breakfast, he watered his plant, he combed his fur . . . what could it be? Why does he feel so oddly off? So he asks his friend Anders the rabbit what could possibly be wrong. It couldn't have anything to do with the fact that he's wearing underwear . . . over his fur . . . could it? Another read-out-loud, laugh-out-loud picture book from bestselling and beloved author Jory John, paired with rising star illustrator Erin Balzer, about that horrible nagging feeling that it just might not be…
