The story is about a boy who follows a bear wherever it goes-to the market, forest, island, seaside, and a castle and finally bades it farewell as it leaves for outer space.
The rhyme is perfect.
My first impression of the pictures was that they were too busy. But after a few reads I began identifying cool stuff about the illustrations and absolutely adore them.
Lots of small details are meticulously included. One of the rhymes is:
I'm going to the forest,
Where fearsome creatures prowl.
Where raccoons play and bobcats snarl,
And hungry foxes howl.
A raccoon actually throws a pine cone at a howling fox. Now, how better could a playing raccoon be picturized?
The people on the seaside page come in interesting shapes.
The coloring scheme has a pattern that's reused. For example, on the castle page, some of the costumes have black and white stripes. This is repeated in other bear books from Barefoot illustrated by the same artist.
The illustrations are whimsical, and bright to capture a child's attention.
The awesome thing about this book is that I find something new every time I read it.
Each page is a treasure trove as it offers numerous 'show and tell' resources for kids.
I ask my daughter to find and count the number of bees, flowers, and birds on the pages. It is a great way to teach kids to count and find objects.
I noticed that there is another version of the book with a hot-air balloon and a wagon. Not sure why they've been removed from the newer version. But they are great too. The prairie animals and the colorful parrots are a beauty.
This book is a keeper!