ONE Very Big Bear

September 12, 2016
Originally published in France, this math-minded picture book introduces a hulking polar bear who is impressed by his own size. “I’m very big!” he proclaims. “I’m almost a giant!” The other polar animals nearby dismiss his size: “You’re not that big,” suggest two walruses who swim up to his ice floe. “Look at this: one + one. We two are just as big as you!” The addition theme continues as three foxes, four sea lions, five penguins, and six sardines hop on each other’s backs to show Bear that they are just as large as he is. In minimalist illustrations that resemble screenprints, Philipponneau and Enjary create rich contrasts by using a color scheme of vivid mint green, black, and white. The closing scene—in which Bear remembers that his mouth is pretty big, too—will leave readers giggling. Ages 3–5.

A counting book finds "ONE white bear" facing off against an increasing number of different creatures in a contest of size. With so many creative and interesting counting books available, a new endeavor in this genre must work hard to stand out from the crowd. This French import seems to run out of steam before it has barely begun. The illustrations are flat, two-color monoprints with stylized, hard-to-distinguish animal shapes. A large white bear stands glumly on an ice floe. "I'm very big!" he announces. "I'm almost a giant!" Two walruses swim up, challenging his size by standing one atop the other. This joke is repeated with three foxes (unlikely residents of an ice floe!), four sea lions, five penguins (even more unlikely, assuming the ice floe is in the Arctic), and six sardines, the last of which unsurprisingly are consumed by the bear on the last page. The goal is apparently to teach very simple addition: each vertical pile of animals is notated as an arithmetical equation, such as ONE + ONE + ONE, but the exercise abruptly concludes at six, not even bothering to get to 10. Numerical notation is not used, and this half-hearted, didactic attempt risks confusion rather than enlightenment. Lacking bounce and any real originality, this big bear falls flat on the ice. (Picture book. 3-6) COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 1, 2016

PreS-Gr 1-A polar bear stands on a chunk of ice and boasts of his size. When the other animals hear, they stand on one another's heads to show him that he's not that tall. The walruses teeter beside him and say, "We TWO are just as big as you!" As the tower of animals grows in size, so do the opportunities for counting and addition. The ending is something of a shock, but being that the main character is a wild polar bear, the last creatures who question his height (six sardines) make a perfect breakfast. The black-and-white illustrations are striking against the green sky. The column of animals on the right-hand page match the column of addition in the text on the left-hand page. VERDICT A picture book for children who like a bit of a surprise when they are learning their numbers.-Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, Alta., Canada

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