Bear Wants More

I've shared with you before about one of my youngest's favorite friends in Bear Feels Sick.  If your kids enjoy that title as much as mine do, then you'll be ready for a new "Bear" story.  Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman give us another charming rhyming tale of friendship, perfect for a "springtime read-aloud" in Bear Wants More, and don't forget to let the kids "read" aloud all the But the bear wants more! lines, beginning with:
               When springtime comes,
                in his warm winter den
                a bear wakes up
                very hungry and thin!
We especially enjoyed Chapman's (who lives with her family in Dorset, England) settings of cheerful emerald forests and meadows.

Oh, and be sure to enter the most recent give-away by Friday!  Just click and comment here: http://readmeastorynow.blogspot.com/2011/04/give-away-4.html 

Bear Feels Sick

I picked up a head cold from my dear children last week, and it's slowly made it's way to my chest.  So, with the exception of the Mister, we've all been sneezing and coughing.  I'm telling you, the Puffs, Ricola, Honey Chestal, humidifier, and Vicks Vapor Rub are all taking up some prime real estate around here!  Anyone want to come over?  :)

Our go to book in times of illness is Bear Feels Sick by Karma Wilson and illustrated by Jane Chapman.  Wilson writes her story in rhyming verse, so it's especially catchy with the preschool and kindergarten ages.  We soon learn that bear has caught an "autumn" cold.  The kids love saying the repetitive refrain throughout the book; all I have to do is pause, and they quickly jump in with "And the bear feels sick!"  Bear's friends Mouse, Hare, Badger, Gopher, Mole, Raven, Owl, and Wren all come together to take care of him with such tenderness.  Taking Wilson's text a bit further, Chapman's sweet, cozy illustrations compliment Wilson's story with specific ways the friends care for bear.  Then the story concludes with a twist that you  mothers will not be surprised by.