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Summary
Summary
It's a young bear's first autumn, and the falling leaves surprise him. He tries to put them back on the trees, but it doesn't work. Eventually, he gets sleepy and burrows into the fallen leaves for a long nap. When he wakes up, it's spring, and there are suddenly brand-new leaves all around, welcoming him.
Graceful illustrations and a childlike main character offer the perfect way to talk with children about the wonder of the changing seasons.
Author Notes
David Ezra Stein is also the author and illustrator of Cowboy Ned and Andy. He lives in Kew Gardens, New York.
Reviews (2)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Simple, declarative sentences and expressive small-scale pictures blend beautifully in this sweet story about a young bear experiencing his first full cycle of seasons. Bamboo pen and earth-toned watercolors are used to great effect to depict the setting of a tiny island with a few trees. The serene scenes and streamlined story line reflect perfectly the gentle passage of time. The bear dances gracefully and happily as he picks flowers and absorbs the warmth of the sun: "Everything was going well." Then the first autumn leaf drops, and he asks it, "Are you okay?" As leaves continue to fall, he leaps around trying to catch them; he even tries to reattach them to the branches. When he becomes sleepy, he carries a bunch of leaves to a hole and uses them to cover the entrance while he hibernates. Snow falls and blankets the ground; a fox trots by and a white rabbit peeks over the hillside. As yellow tones return to the sky, birds scratch for food in the melting snow. The bear looks out of his warm den and, when he sees the new green buds on the trees, he jumps out crying, "Welcome!" This introspective little gem exudes joy.-Kirsten Cutler, Sonoma County Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Stein's (Cowboy Ned and Andy) pen-and-ink illustrations conjure a place readers will wish they could visit, a tiny island that pokes up out of a bay. Drawn in mossy greens and golds, the island is home to a very young bear-so young that when the leaves start falling in the autumn, he's a little shocked: "He tried to catch them and put them back on... but it was not the same." The bear doesn't despair; he grows sleepy, goes off to hibernate and wakes in the spring. This set of events is depicted in a series of panels trained on the entrance to the bear's den; the single tree above it loses its leaves, is blanketed by snow, and receives visits first by a rabbit and then by a pair of cardinals.) Eventually the bear sticks his head back out to greet the spring sunshine and spies the tiny buds on the trees. " `Welcome!' he cried. And, he thought, the leaves welcomed him." Many things contribute to the success of Stein's tale: the joyously colored panels that hang on the pages like paintings-more intimate, somehow, than double-page spreads-the island's eight trees and their leaves, which seem lively and animate and entirely worthy of friendship; the innocence of the bear; and Stein's willingness to let the story assume its own haiku-like shape. His autumnal pictures seem to glow, while the bear himself has the irresistible appeal of a well-loved toy. All ages. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved