Baby Bear Sees Blue

Starred review from December 5, 2011
Wolff’s (Compost Stew) watercolor-tinted linocuts make each page of this story simultaneously cozy and dramatic—cozy because they star a fuzzy bear cub and his mother, and dramatic because each one contrasts dark shapes with washes of light and color. This is Baby Bear’s first spring, and everything is new to him. “Who is warming me, Mama?” Baby Bear asks, clambering over his mother to get a better look at the light outside. “That is the sun,” his mother tells him. At the cave entrance, golden sunbeams stream in—“Baby Bear sees yellow”—and Baby Bear is shown in silhouette as he sits just where the cave’s blackness meets the light of the outside world. The line “Baby Bear sees” is repeated for the brown of a trout, the blue of a jay, the red of a strawberry, and more, linking every color to something in the natural world. Children will be absorbed by the complex textures of Wolff’s linocuts, the Japanese woodblock–style graded shades of the sky, and the reassuring comfort of a world that is always safely guarded by Mama Bear. Ages 2–6.

December 15, 2011
Inspired by the mother bear and cub in Blueberries for Sal, Wolff creates a gentle story for toddlers that introduces colors and images from the natural world. Between awakening in the den and cuddling down for the night, Baby Bear's day is full of new experiences and prescient questions. "A glow creeps in. / ‘Who is warming me, Mama?' / asks Baby Bear. / ‘That is the sun,' Mama says." Page turns effectively deliver the color lessons: Silhouetted against the golden light of dawn, "Baby Bear sees yellow." The cub sees green oak leaves waving, smells fragrant red strawberries, and hears the growl of thunder against a stormy gray sky. Wolff's lovely compositions feature inked linoleum block prints that render those bears a strikingly deep, matte black. Lush, washy watercolors illuminate the scenes--colors in the downpour's puddles reflect a rainbow. Curious Baby Bear is 100-percent toddler, and Wolff skillfully captures both the bear-ish (the mother's prodigious claws and small, lipid brown eyes) and the human (smiles, tender looks and, well, dialogue). Small children notice small things, and plenty of tiny creatures--grasshopper, frog, mouse and more--await their discovery. Imbued with a spirit of exploration, fostered by parental protection, Baby Bear's colorful adventures will enrich repeat bedtime read-alouds. (Picture book. 2-5)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

January 1, 2012

PreS-Gr 1-As Baby Bear and his mother amble through forest and meadow, the cub asks countless questions about his surroundings: "Who is warming me, Mama?," "Who is waving to me, Mama?," etc., and with each patient reply, "That is the sun" or "That is the oak," Baby Bear notes the color of the object in question. The story comes full circle when mother and baby return to their cave and, closing his eyes, Baby Bear seeing nothing but "deep, soft black." Luscious full-page linoleum print and watercolor illustrations delight with bright colors. Despite an abundance of books about bears and color concepts, this cozy story cleverly ties the two together. It would work well in storytimes or one on one.-Yelena Alekseyeva-Popova, formerly at Chappaqua Library, NY

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2012
Preschool-K Baby Bear and his mother wake up at dawn. As the sun fills their den with light, Baby Bear sees yellow. Roaming around outdoors, the curious cub also notices green leaves in the oak tree, a brown trout in the river, an orange butterfly in the meadow. When the sky turns gray, Baby Bear and Mama return to their den and watch a passing thunderstorm, followed by a rainbow. Night falls and the little bear goes to sleep. Wolff's illustrations, black linoleum-block prints washed with watercolors, feature bold lines, strong compositions, and sensitive uses of color that will draw readers into the pictures. Excellent for group sharing, the artwork shows up especially well from a distance. The quiet text is made up of Baby Bear's questions about the sensory wonders of his world and his mother's replies, and given a chance, young children will be happy to supply the answers first. An engaging concept book with just enough narrative for its audience.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)