The New LiBEARian

November 13, 2017
An unexpected guest shows up for story time in this light, amusing debut by U.K. author Donald. When the librarian fails to appear for story hour, a trail of clues leads the children “through a galaxy, into an ocean, and down a runway” until they find a new librarian—a friendly, if wild looking, bear. “Could you read us a scary story?” they ask, and the bear happily obliges with a book about—what else?—bears. He roars and stomps through the tale (in the book’s funniest detail, he isn’t able to talk, only growl), leaving the children begging for more until their usual librarian appears. “Sorry I’m late,” she explains. “A volcano erupted in the Ancient History section, and there was hot lava everywhere.” She begins to read from “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” but Baby Bear is missing from the tale—and the identity of the “new librarian” becomes clear. In bright, busy digital collages, newcomer Willmore depicts the library as a place where anything can happen, bolstering the story’s unspoken message about the magic that awaits in books. Ages 4–7.

December 1, 2017

PreS-Gr 2-Dee and the other children are sitting in a cozy library nook waiting for storytime to begin, but the librarian, Ms. Merryweather, is nowhere to be found. After searching a bit, the kids come across giant-size paw prints, a sticky-with-honey desk, some torn-to-pieces pages, and a scruffy-looking critter they assume is a new librarian. With a wordless nod, the ursine individual agrees to read them a story, not about pirates or princesses, but about bears, of course, enthusiastically roaring, growling, and stomping his way through the tale. "EEEEE," the delighted children scream, and ask their storyteller to "Read it again!" When Ms. Merryweather finally appears (she was cleaning up hot lava from a volcano eruption in the Ancient History section), she begins to read "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," only to discover that Baby Bear is missing from the pages. Everything is set to rights and the book ends with the revelation that another literary personage has gone AWOL. The tale is crisply told and the buoyant illustrations, showing library stacks teeming with spinning planets, pirate ships, and imaginary creatures, depict a delightfully anything-can-happen atmosphere. VERDICT This fun read-aloud celebrates the camaraderie and wonder of sharing stories in a group setting and the power of imagination.-Joy Fleishhacker, Pikes Peak Library District, Colorado Springs

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2017
It's storytime, but where is the librarian?A diverse group of children sets out to search for Ms. Merryweather. The first clue they find is prints--not footprints but paw prints. Then they discover that the librarian's desk is sticky with spilled honey and covered in shredded and torn books. Behind the desk is "a new librarian"--a real bear, helpfully wearing a name tag that says "librarian." The kids are excited and ask the bear to read them a scary story. Of course, he does. Opening a book about bears, he roars, growls, stomps, and roars some more. (The key verbs are printed in all caps for extra fizz.) When Ms. Merryweather appears (she was seeing to a volcano eruption in a different section), she doesn't notice the bear. Her pick for storytime is "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," but wait, something is missing--where's the baby bear in the story? Guess! The pencil and digital media illustrations are simple; the kids have dots for eyes and mouths, and Ms. Merryweather, a white woman with fluffy red hair, wears stereotypical eyeglasses. The book's premise obviously springs from the familiar mispronunciation of the word "librarian" by kids, but it doesn't figure in the oddly disjointed story at all. The metafictive movement of the little bear in and out of the story lacks not only logic, but luster.Despite the elements of a favorite folk tale, storytime, and a bear, this is not a honey of a tale--it's bearly amusing. (Picture book. 4-6)

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November 15, 2017
Preschool-G The title of this light tale by debut picture-book creators is presumably referencing a common mispronunciation, although that's (probably fortunately) not referenced once the story begins. Inside, readers meet a diverse group of kids wondering why their librarian is late for storytime. A trail of paw prints and spilled honey lead them to whom they assume is her replacement, but he seems more interested in roaring, growling, and stomping than reading. Once the regular Ms. Merryweather eventually arriveswith her stereotypical looks and name similar to Miss Merriweather in Michelle Knudsen's Library Lion (2006)it becomes evident that the bear's place is inside the book she's planning to read. That story? Goldilocks, which happens to also be missing another character, leading to the wink-wink on the last page. The dusty earth-toned pencil-and-digital-media art gives a wholesome look to this attempt to encourage the sense of libraries as imaginative places. Appropriately, this would make a fine read-aloud.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)