Brown Bear & Friends

To a trio of bear stories, the authors add the escapades of a baby bear. Here listeners can enjoy all four bear stories, which feature various creatures--flying squirrels, blue herons, red foxes, and others--along with descriptions of their behavior--climbing, gliding, and running, for example--and sounds--"snorrrring," "hissssssing," and "trumppppeting." Gwyneth Paltrow gives an outstanding narration of these well-loved tales. Delighted youngsters will be able to recite along with Paltrow, given her studied pacing and emphasis on repetition. Further, her gentle attention to animals' names and behavior provides listeners with vivid images. Subtle background music enlivens the recording, which also includes an afterword with Carle and Martin themselves reading "Brown Bear". A.R. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine