Where Bear?

November 17, 2014
This whimsical story opens with a small bear cub and a human boy. The bear grows quickly, and soon the two can barely squeeze onto a couch together. “I think it’s time we found you a new place to live where you can be bearish and big,” the boy says. “But where, bear?” He proposes various possibilities—a circus, a forest, a cave—but the bear rejects each option with a terse “No.” The repetition continues until the boy remembers that certain bears (especially ones with white fur) like the Arctic. Instead of “No,” the bear says, “Snow,” and the choice is made. Bear finds the northward move satisfactory, and he and the boy stay in touch, “chit-chattering on the phone all the time” (“We should go somewhere like we used to,” proposes the bear in an oddly loquacious departure from his previous one-word responses). Debut talent Henn favors heavy, lithographic lines and crude shapes on saturated, monochrome backdrops. Her illustrations make more of an impact than her playful, but rather ho-hum tale. Ages 5–8. Agent: Paul Moreton, Bell Lomax Moreton Literary Agency.

October 15, 2014
The eternal quandaries of friendships between animals and children are given a new twist in this debut picture book by British artist Henn. When this polar bear cub is small, living with the boy is no problem. As soon as he starts to grow, his natural bear nature starts to assert itself. He eats all the food, swamps the duck pond and roars in an anti-social manner. The boy realizes his pet is "just too big and bearish to be living in a house." In an entertainingly repetitive phrase, the titular dilemma-"Then where, bear?"-is repeated on each spread, accompanied by illustrations showing the impossibility of each situation. He is too big to fit in the toyshop, too uncomfortable in the zoo; the circus, the woods, caves and the jungle are too scary for this sweet and fuzzy polar bear. A taste of an ice pop from the fridge gives them an idea. It's off to the Arctic, where the bear feels quite at home in the snow. Everyone is happy, and the two friends still stay in touch, quaintly "chit-chattering on the phone all the time." Boy and bear are depicted in comfortable vignettes; bold swashes of crayon overlay plain and textured backgrounds in a palette of red, gray, pink and lime. Thick, fuzzy gray lines describe the bear's friendly bulk; the boy wears a complementary black-and-white-striped T-shirt. This gentle tale about friendship and home will give early readers and their grown-ups plenty of food for discussion. (Picture book. 2-5)

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September 1, 2014

K-Gr 2-A cuddly, white cub lives with a little boy in a home in which retro furniture and telephones with cords suggest the mid-20th-century. When the animal's size quickly outpaces the boy's (and the scale of the house), the child sets out to find a new habitat for his friend. The titular question becomes the narrative engine for a series of spreads taking the duo to places ranging from a toy store and zoo to the circus and jungle. Nothing suits the bear, until they arrive at the Arctic. The controlled palette for each spare composition relates to the changing colors of the (mostly solid) backgrounds. The boy's navy shorts and blue-and-white striped shirt are constants as are the white curves of the animal. Their friendship survives the distance, and the bear proposes a new trip together, setting up the boy to ask the question one last time. This pleasant but not distinguished foray into picture books by a British art director is strong on design but a bit short on sustaining narrative interest. With the exception of the circus scene, the bear is a static figure-either sitting or standing-in each new situation. The narrative wears a little thin, with no dramatic tension, action, or climactic rise in the plot or visuals to enliven the repetitive text.-Wendy Lukehart, District of Columbia Public Library

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