The Bears We Know (Annikins)
PreSchool-Grade 2—Although the narrator of this charming picture book admits to never having seen the three bears that live in a big brown house down the road, he or she can recount their activities with certitude: "We have never seen the bears, but we know they are there. And we know what they do." These bears sleep late every day, drink coffee, eat chips, jump on old couches for exercise, and sing sad songs and then cry. "They don't go to school and they never have to work." The warm, funny watercolors are a great match for the goofy creatures and their various antics. Their great brown bodies sprawl across the page (and the couches), and the simple text is clearly printed on a field of white. While this is an enjoyable one-on-one reading romp, it also provides a starting point for a study of real bears, or of other fiction featuring these animals, making it a good group choice as well.—Piper Nyman, Brookmeade Elementary School, Nashville, TNEND--This text refers to theLibrary Bindingedition.