Something About a Bear

by Jackie Morris

Overview

A beautiful large format gift edition of Jackie Morris's stunning and evocative celebration of bears

Here are eight majestic wild bears, brought to life in breathtaking watercolor paintings.

Brown Bear, Black Bear, Polar Bear, Sloth Bear, Spectacled Bear, Sun Bear, Moon Bear. All are gloriously depicted, with lyrical descriptions of their lives in the wild. But of all the bears in the wild, wide world, which is the best bear of all? Your teddy bear, of course!

Kate Greenaway medalist Jackie Morris, acclaimed illustrator of the international bestseller The Lost Words, has created this spectacular gallery of bears to instill a love of wild places and a respect for all creatures.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781913074289
Publisher:	Otter-Barry Books
Publication date:	01/10/2023
Edition description:	Second edition
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	678,867
Product dimensions:	10.50(w) x 14.50(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	5 - 7 Years

About the Author

Jackie Morris is the bestselling author and illustrator, photographer and painter who created the international bestseller The Lost Words, winner of the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal in 2019, with Robert Macfarlane.

Her books for Otter-Barry Books include One Cheetah, One Cherry, The Seal Children, The Jackie Morris Book of Classic Nursery Rhymes and, with James Mayhew, Can You See a Little Bear?, Mrs Noah’s Pockets, Mrs Noah’s Garden and Mrs Noah’s Song.

Editorial Reviews

"With huge, richly detailed pictures (who knew watercolors could make so many different kinds of brown?) and a lucid and near-poetic text, Morris describes the lives and habitats of eight kinds of bear. . . . She packs an amazing amount of information about bears into the text, and that is supplemented by notes on each animal and a handful of websites listed in the backmatter. . . . It is lovely to see natural history and a sense of eco-awareness combined with many children’s most beloved plaything." —Kirkus Reviews

"Children who love bears should relish the realistic, lush watercolors in this close-up glimpse of eight different ursines—the moon bear, sun bear, sloth bear, brown bear, spectacled bear, American black bear, giant panda, and polar bear—featured on full spreads accompanied by brief narratives that provide facts about hunting range, habitats, coloration, foods, even predators. The informational passages are clear, straightforward, and easy for children to understand." —School Library Journal

"Supple paintings depict the bears in their natural environments, and the accompanying descriptions are equally lush: “Through the forest, hunting termites and the honey hives of bees, where the mangoes and the fruit trees grow in plenty, walks the shaggy-coated Sloth Bear.” Morris’s watercolors beautifully render the subtleties of color and light in the bears’ fur. A cozy conclusion and a glossary round out this educational and handsome offering." —Publishers Weekly

"Jackie Morris, acclaimed illustrator of The Lost Words, has created this spectacular gallery of bears to instill a love of wild places and a respect for all creatures." - Cassandra M's Place

"A unique, extraordinary, and unreservedly recommended addition to family, elementary school, and community library Wildlife Picture Book collections." —Midwest Book Review

From the Publisher

10/06/2014
Morris introduces a toffee-colored bear, seen nose to nose with a curious teddy bear (“Let me tell you something—something about a bear”) before exploring wild bears, including a spectacled bear, moon bear, and polar bear. Supple paintings depict the bears in their natural environments, and the accompanying descriptions are equally lush: “Through the forest, hunting termites and the honey hives of bees, where the mangoes and the fruit trees grow in plenty, walks the shaggy-coated Sloth Bear.” Morris’s watercolors beautifully render the subtleties of color and light in the bears’ fur. A cozy conclusion and a glossary round out this educational and handsome offering. Ages 3–6. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

01/01/2015
PreS-Gr 2—Children who love bears should relish the realistic, lush watercolors in this close-up glimpse of eight different ursines—the moon bear, sun bear, sloth bear, brown bear, spectacled bear, American black bear, giant panda, and polar bear—featured on full spreads accompanied by brief narratives that provide facts about hunting range, habitats, coloration, foods, even predators. The informational passages are clear, straightforward, and easy for children to understand. The paintings depict the bears' size and muscularity, though they generally don't give a sense of movement, and some of the animals look alike, which may make it difficult for readers to differentiate among them. A confusing spread displays a rare white black bear, which children may mistake for a polar bear. The final spread shows all of them together, perhaps enabling children to distinguish among them, but there's no indication of whether the relative sizes of the animals shown are accurately drawn to scale; this seems unlikely. The somewhatodd ending suggests that the "very best bear of all is…your bear" and shows a real bear holding a teddy. The useful concluding spread includes websites and gives additional information about each bear, though the reading level is more advanced. An additional purchase.—Carol Goldman, Queens Library, NY

School Library Journal

2014-11-04
With huge, richly detailed pictures (who knew watercolors could make so many different kinds of brown?) and a lucid and near-poetic text, Morris describes the lives and habitats of eight kinds of bear. Baby pandas are "soft and small as peaches" when they are born. Spectacled bear mothers nurse their cubs in the cloud forest canopy. Polar bears are not white! (Their fur is hollow, and their skin is black.) She packs an amazing amount of information about bears into the text, and that is supplemented by notes on each animal and a handful of websites listed in the backmatter. Even the names of the bears make for evocative reading within the lyrical prose: brown bear, giant panda, sloth bear, spectacled bear, moon bear, polar bear, sun bear, American black bear (and yes, the American black bear comes in many colors, including white). Water, architecture, other plant and animal life, and various indicators of habitat are painted with energy and intensity. Even as she dazzles with the splendid, up-close images and information, Morris does not lose sight of the most important bear of all. Every child will recognize that one. It is lovely to see natural history and a sense of eco-awareness combined with many children's most beloved plaything. (Informational picture book. 4-9)

Kirkus Reviews