I Know a Bear
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
In this touching, hopeful story that reads like a modern classic, a young girl befriends a bear in the zoo. He comes from far, far away, a place he calls the Land of the Bears, where the food is sweet and the land is vast. It is a wondrous home, where the rivers are like bathtubs and naps last for months and months. But, alas, he cannot return; his new home is the zoo. And so the girl listens carefully as her friend remembers, and she imagines a world of freedom, vast and sweet.
Using a gentle tone, spare language, and gorgeous illustrations, Mariana Ruiz Johnson reminds young readers that being a good listener is what makes for a good friend.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
First published in France, Argentinian author-artist Johnson's deceptively casual tale, her U.S. debut, conceals a moral dilemma. A girl with unruly yellow hair sits in bed. She's drawn in gentle, charcoal-like lines, tinted with pastel shades. She addresses readers: "I know a bear that comes from far away. From a place he calls the Land of the Bears." Over several spreads, she's seen accompanying the bear wherever he goes, dressed in her pajamas; the two gather honey and swim in the river. "Naps last for months and months.... The bear tells me that this place is both vast and wondrous." Another page turn reveals the sour truth: the bear is seen behind the bars of a zoo cage, where the girl visits him. At home, she regards the family's caged pet bird. "Today," she says, "I had an idea." She opens the door and frees the bird. "It felt both vast and wondrous." It's a featherlight portrait of a child who feels a call to take action and heeds it. Readers will hope that she can find a way to free the bear. Ages 3 7.
