Rating: 
Summary: The Must-Have Book For Winter!
Review: This is Karma Wilson's first book, but after you read it, you can bet you'll know that it will definately not be her last! Talent abounds with this book from Margaret McElderry Books/Simon and Schuster. Jane Chapman's pictures are refreshingly unique, and endearing.When you pick up this book, you will think that you are picking up a piece of art.
And you are! The text and the pictures simply sing with the flurry of the winter snowflakes. Soft, unexpected, rich, deep, and crisp! The story is about a bear who keeps snoring on, even after some animals stop by to have tea and popcorn with him. But the party goes on without him as he sleeps. The chomp and crunch of the rabbit, badger and mouse eating honey-nuts- still doesn't wake him up! A fleck of pepper finally rouses him, and they do the party all over again for the sake of the bear. :)) Buy two. ..one for your best friend who will want to borrow your copy!!!
Rating:
Summary: Incredible Story
Review: This is one of our favorite books. We read it and Goodnight Moon (Margaret Wise Brown) each night at bedtime. The illustrations are magnificent, the wording is very flowing and fun. Kids books should be fun to read (or memorize and recite)! My son, age 3, loves the "chew, chomp, crunch" page. My daughter, 15 months, sits still for this story. It is easy to memorize and recite to them while waiting in lines or driving.
I highly recommend this book and can't wait to receive our copy of Bear Wants More!
Rating:
Summary: Bear Snores On
Review: This is such a wonderful and interesting book to read out loud. The rhyming is beautifully done with clever word choices. If you are not a good story teller, this book sort of helps you out. Flip through the pages and you'll see that some of the letters are capitalized. It gives you the cue that you should emphasize on that part. Someone with great talent in story telling should not feel that your style is being constrained by these cues. Ignore them by all means because the fun part when reading a picture book out loud is when you can express the words in your own style. I think, the "cues" is probably just the author's way of setting the book differently from the others. It could also be the author's reading expression being literally translated onto the paper.
Whatever it is, the book is fun to read!!
Rating:
Summary: Hibernation at its Best!
Review: We try to teach the children alittle about hibernation and how the bears sleep thru winter.
This is the story of a big brown bear, and how other animal friends come into his cave and have a party while he is sleeping, and what happens when he wakes up and finds out that they are having a party without him!
Great book, the children help by saying "and the Bear snores on" after each animal joins the party!
Ellen
Rating:
Summary: Love it, but...
Review: We, too, love this book in our home. I have read this to my 16 month old for the past year and he loves it. The rhyming text makes for a fun read-aloud, particularly if you use voices (growly bear, squeaky mouse, etc). Now my 4 year old reads it to him, complete with the voices and HUGE sneeze. My one problem with it - "snuck" is NOT a word. You hear it everywhere, but the appropriate past tense for "sneak" is "sneaked." The dictionary does say "snuck" is appropriate for illustrating a regional dialect. Perhaps bears DO say snuck (having never spoken with one, I don't know), but I would rather not have a book teach my children incorrect grammar. So I replace it with sneaked. Anyway, just a pet peeve of mine, but still a fantastic book, which I highly recommend.
Rating:
Summary: More than what the words say
Review: While the winter storm rages, bear snores on. Guest after guest arrives in bear's lair, and bear STILL snores on. The story is funny (and has a moment of sadness) without losing meaning. Another delight of the book is the text - not just what the words are saying, but the way the letters are CAPITALIZED and sometimes bold-print, or smaller than the normal type. This really highlights the emphasis on the emotions or activities of the animals, including the bear (whose snoring seems to get louder as the activities around him become more animated). The story seems "just right" - kind of like Goldilocks finding the right bed to sleep in - and the full-page illustrations are great attention-keepers. A book kids will want to read again and again.
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