Old Bear Board Book

This story is about an old bear who goes into hibernation for the winter. He dreams many wonderful thoughts about all the different seasons. When he awakens from his slumber, he forgets that it is not winter anymore. He is surprised to find that it is now spring, and he has slept through the entire

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winter season!

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The leaves on the inside front cover and the flowers on the inside back cover orient the reader to what season we are in. The title page introduces us to a friendly-looking bear who is sitting fat and happy, and as we turn to the verso and dedication page, our fat and happy bear is beginning his

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journey into a long winter's nap. The illustrations are easily readable, and very expressive without words.

As the story continues and the text is added, Henkes does a marvelous job of telling the story with very few words. As the reader gets into the dreams of the Old Bear, the illustrations take on a vivid, brilliant and unrealistic look where "flowers are almost as big as trees," and everything is purple, yellow or pink. As Old Bear travels through the seasons in his dreams, the scenery changes and his world is made up of make-believe things like blueberry rain and a daisy sun. Each season is represented by a different color scheme that would be easy for children to identify. Perhaps the most beautiful page is winter where the "sky is blazing with stars of all colors." The serenity and quiet that is exhibited on this page will make the reader feel as if their footprints will be the first in the snow.

This book, with all its simplicity and sweetness, will place the reader right into Old Bear's dreams with that surrealistic feeling that we so often feel while we are sleeping.

My only note is that Old Bear actually looks like a very young bear, perhaps even like a bear cub. Even his dreams are the makings of a young, carefree bear.

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A beautifully illustrated book about a hibernating bear that dreams of all the seasons.

I love the imagination in this story. I loved the creative things that old bear dreamed of, such as blueberries raining from the sky. The book is simple, but inspires kids to dream.

Old Bear settles in for his long winter nap and dreams of seasons past as a cub, then to awakens to find that the winter has passed and the Spring of his dreams has arrived with all its beauty and color.

Snug and warm, Old Bear sleeps for winter. Dreaming of spring and being a cub again, he travels through a daisy sun summer and yellow and orange autumn to an ice covered winter. Old Bear sleeps and dreams only to melt away the winter into spring. He wakes up to a beautiful spring day, as if no time

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has passed.

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This is a book about a bear hibernating for winter and what he dreams about during that long, long sleep. The book is a standout for it's illustrations, which show the changing seasons in nature with such intense beauty. I especially love the depiction of spring, which shows an abundance of flowers

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with multi-hued variety. So beautiful.

I think this one would be great for a toddler storytime - not a lot of text, large format, vibrant illustrations, simple concept. A very lovely book.

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When Old Bear falls asleep for the winter he starts dreaming of all of the seasons. First spring, where the flowers are as big as trees and he falls asleep in one. Second, summer, where it rained blueberries. Third, autumn, where the birds, the fish, and the water were all orange, brown and yellow.

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And the fourth and last winter, where everything was covered in snow and the stars were all different colors. This is a great book to help children learn the seasons.

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Kevin Henkes' stories have always offered a whimsical retreat into the egocentrism and emotion of childhood. His "Lilly" Mouse is rambunctious and adoring, and mostly chiefly concerned with but one person: herself. At least the children I know can relate, especially when we read together about

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Lilly's new baby brother or her Kindergarten class's teacher and her wonderful name, or any of the other common, everyday experiences Lilly has. Henkes' stories are, above all else, honest and relatable for children.

But Henkes took a fresh detour with his lushly illustrated "Kitten's First Full Moon," and he follows it now with the similarly styled "Old Bear." Upon first glance at the cover, you may just be filled with the irresistable urge to offer up bear hugs to those around you; Henkes' soft, charming illustrative work (done with ink and watercolors) and his round, lovable (and lovely to look at) characters in these latest works just make you feel that good.

He relies on this visual charm to sustain "Old Bear," a wonderful salute to a bear's winter hibernation and what dreams unfold while he sleeps. From Fall to Winter, Spring to Summer, this bearish slumber offers a full appreciate of the seasons and is the kind of book that will have you wishing you had a roaring fire at your side, a mug of hot cocoa to accompany it, and a well-worn armchair to read in - with the crisp autumn air nipping at the window outside.

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Old Bear is a short cute book that will be sure to keep students interest. The vibrant colors and pictures are exciting and eye catching. It is a story about a bear going to sleep for the winter and dreaming. His dreams are filled with seasons changing. He then wakes up and realizes he is no longer

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dreaming, it is actually spring.

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Picture Book
Old Bear cuddles up in his den for winter and begins to dream. He dreams of his adventures in the spring, summer, and fall. When he wakes up, he pokes his head out of his den and realizes it is spring and his adventures can begin.

“Old Bear” written by Kevin Henkes is a great picture

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book for a very young audience. The simplistic and short text will keep their attention as it is read aloud. It is a nice introduction to learning the concept of the four seasons. I like the text and illustration color choice. The text and illustration describing winter is all blue, spring is all pastels, summer green, and fall yellows and oranges.

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Old Bear hibernates and dreams of being a small cub again. He dreams about the seasons and the many colors associated with each season. He finally wakes up from hibernating and could not believe his eyes. It was now spring and he was not dreaming.

Although there isn't a lot of text to this simple story, the illustrations add so much to the story. The dreamlike illustrations cause one to visually see the bear's dream. Preschoolers and Kindergarteners would love this book and could write and illustrate stories about their own dreams.

Bear dreams in vivid color of the four seasons as he naps through winter.

This book takes one through all the seasons as the old bear hibernates. It is very simple but it gives a general idea of what happens in each of the season. As the bear hibernates, he dreams about the seasons and what he does throughout each one.

This is a story about Old Bear and what he dreams about while he is hibernating in the wintertime. He dreams about each season. The colors change as he dreams about each season. After what seems like no time at all, Old Bear wakes up to find that it is spring. The illustrations in the book are

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simple, yet appropriate for each part of the story. I love to beautiful colors and flowers at the end of the story when spring has come. It is a happy page full of new life. I would recommend this book for younger children who are learning about the seasons and hibernation. A classroom could make their own version of this book, using creativity to imagine what Old Bear is dreaming about during the winter hibernation months.

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Old Bear is a cute story about a bear who falls asleep on one winter day. The bear has a dream that it is Spring and that he is a baby cub again. He then dreamed that it was spring and then he dreamed that it was autumn. At the end of the story the bear dreams that it is winter again. When he wakes

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up it is spring outside. This story has wonderful, colorful illustrations. This book is the most appropriate for beginning readers.

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The old bear settles down for a nap. He dreams of the seasons passing. When he wakes up, he expects it to still be winter, but it is spring. This is a good book to read to kids when teaching about hibernation. This is very different from Henkes' mouse books, but it is just as good.

Simple story with a 'ooo I could just cuddle you" bear. Nice, simple introduction to hibernation and a reminder that "old" beings can feel young too!

An old bear settles in for the winter in this sweet and very simple picture-book from Kevin Henkes, who is probably best known for his "mouse stories" - titles like the Caldecott Honor Book Owen, Chrysanthemum, and Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse. Dreaming of the spring, and of his days as a young

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cub, the bear experiences the glories of the seasons, before waking up and discovering that another winter has passed.

There is a gentle quality to this simple tale, with no more than a sentence or two per page, that is immensely appealing. The accompanying illustrated, created with watercolor paint and ink, have the feeling almost of woodblock prints: a style that I find very appealing. There's not much to it, but the overall feeling of Old Bear is one of contented sleepiness. What could be better, in a bedtime book?

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An Old Bear is sleeping in the winter. He is dreaming about everything he loves such as in spring he is a cub again, in summer the sun, the leaves, and the sky were a daisy, butterflies, and blueberries, and autumn everything is yellow, orange, and brown, the birds, the fish, and the water and back

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in the winter. He is dreaming about the beauty of the world. This little book helps children imagine about the world in the mind. They also enjoy every seasons within this book.

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The illustrations drew me to this book (and the fact that it is a Henkes book). This book tells the story of a bear who hibernates for the winter. While hibernating, he dreams that he is a cub again passing time through the seasons. When he awakes he finds that spring time has arrived and he is not

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dreaming.

Recommended for a read aloud to young students.

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Old Bear dreams while he is in hibernation and when he wakes up it is the wonderful season of spring. This book would be great to talk about what hibernation is and different seasons.

Old Bear dreams about spring coming and he was a cub again, he dreamed about the summer, fall, winter, and spring. The sun was a daisy and the leaves were butterflies during the summer. He dreams of autumn and everything is yellow, orange and brown. And then he dreams about the winter time and what

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its like for all those months of wintertime that he would be hibernating and sleeping. When he wakes up, he realizes that his dream was actually a reality. Spring was there and it felt like no time passed by at all.

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