Bear In Sunshine by Stella Blackstone- Book Review

It was a splendid summer morning and it seemed as if nothing could go wrong.
- John Cheever



My Grandson and I spent a lovely day at the local Farmer's Market. There was a contest about whoever finds "Benny the Bear" would win a prize. Well, we found the bear and won a sticker! My Grandson quickly removed the sticker and we headed on back home to play with toys, then for a quick read before nap time. Our choice of book was called Bear In Sunshine by Stella Blackstone.

I love the board book Bear In Sunshine because of the bold, bright colors and then the story! There's a whole series of books and they make great gifts! What I especially like about this book is that preschool-aged kids learn about the different seasons and different activities they can do in each one. It's fun to play in all kinds of weather!
* Bear In Sunshine by Stella Blackstone
Illustrated by Debbie Harter
Ages 1-4
Topics: weather, play, bears
* Bear In Sunshine is one in a series of Bear books for very young children by Stella Blackstone and Debbie Harter. This simple book starts off with Bear having fun in different kinds of weather--playing in the water as the sun shines, singing and doing a Gene Kelly impersonation in the rain, flying his kite in windy weather, and building snows-bears in the snow. The narrative rhymes are playful and fun, and each line has a double-page illustration. The story ends "Whatever the weather, come snow, rain or sun,/Bear always know how to have lots of fun!"
The cheerful, vibrant illustrations are stunning and a combination of "watercolor, pen and ink, and crayon on thick watercolor paper". Harter's playful cartoonish drawings deliver a strong sense of movement and manage to seem simple while providing lots of wonderful details. The bulky bear's fur is lovingly detailed (and his own bear even more so), there's literary and nighttime details on one page including the cow jumping over the moon, a white rabbit/march hare, sheep to be counted in the distance, and the dish and the spoon are there too, copying Bear. The illustrations will strongly convey a sense of delight and fun to very young children and there's plenty of humor to keep older children amused.

* Other recommended books in the Bear series include Bear At Home-- teaching the function of different rooms in Bear's house -- and Bear In a Square, which encourages the reader to find the shapes in the story. I've discovered there's also Bear On A Bike, about travel, that looks great and has gotten good reviews.

* Stella Blackstone has written many wonderful books for young children including the Bear series, the Cleo the Cat series, Island in the Sun and Zoe and her Zebra, A Child's Book of Faeries, Bear at Work PB (Bear Series), and Storytime PB with CD.

http://www.jacketflap.com/peersondetail.asp?person=145181
* Debbie Harter has illustrated many children's book including the Bear series, Herb the Vegetarian Dragon, and many others. If you love the art here, you'll also find you can purchase prints, cards, and wrapping paper with Harter's artwork at:

http://ladyd.barefootbooks.com
* Features:
* Theme: Animals - Bears, Bears, Children's Books, Children's Books/Baby-Preschool, Children: Preschool, Fiction, Juvenile Fiction, Nature & the Natural World - General, Nature & the Natural World - Seasons, Stories in rhyme, Weather
* Date Published: February 01, 2004
* Publisher: Barefoot Books
* Author: Stella Blackstone
* Illustrator: Debbie Harter
* Pages: 24
The book cost is $6.99 and you can purchase it here:

http://ladyd.barefootbooks.com