Baby Bear Sees Blue [Hardcover]

Ashley Wolff (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: February 7, 2012 | Age Range: 2 and up

Explore the world of color with Baby Bear!

Baby Bear has so much to learn about the world! From the moment he wakes until it’s time to curl up and go to sleep, he explores outside with his mama. They see green leaves, blue jays, brown trout, and—best of all—a patch of yummy red strawberries.

From bestselling picture book creator Ashley Wolff, here is a clever concept book that combines engaging and intricate linocut illustrations with a story that enthusiastically encourages children to identify a variety of vibrant colors. Young readers will delight in this chance to join Baby Bear as he discovers the colorful wonders of his lively, leafy forest home.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Inspired by the mother bear and cub in Blueberries for Sal, Wolff creates a gentel story for toddlers that introduces colors and images from the natural world.... Wolff's lovely compositions feature inked linoleum block prints that render those bears a strinkingly deep, matte black. Lush, washy watercolors illuminate the scenes--colors in the downpour's puddles reflect a rainbow. Curious Baby Bear is 100-percent toddler, and Wolff skillfully captures both the bear-ish...and the human.... Imbued with a spirit of exploration, fostered by parental protection, Baby Bear's colorful adventures will enrich repeat bedtime read-alouds."

--Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 2011

* "Wolff’s (Compost Stew) watercolor-tinted linocuts make each page of this story simultaneously cozy and dramatic—cozy because they star a fuzzy bear cub and his mother, and dramatic because each one contrasts dark shapes with washes of light and color.... Children will be absorbed by the complex textures of Wolff’s linocuts, the Japanese woodblock–style graded shades of the sky, and the reassuring comfort of a world that is always safely guarded by Mama Bear."

--Publishers Weekly, December 5, 2011, *STAR

"Luscious full-page linoleum print and watercolor illustrations delight with bright colors.... It would work well in storytimes or one on one."

--School Library Journal, January 2012

"Wolff’s illustrations, black linoleum-block prints washed with watercolors, feature bold lines, strong

compositions, and sensitive uses of color that will draw readers into the pictures. Excellent for group

sharing.... The quiet text is made up of Baby Bear’s questions about the sensory wonders of his world and his mother’s replies, and given a chance, young children will be happy to supply the answers first. An engaging concept book with just enough narrative for its audience."

--Booklist, February 1, 2012

“The pacing of the book is perfectly suited to its young audience. With each new encounter Baby Bear’s question and Mama’s answer occur on one double-page spread while the next spread pauses to let Baby Bear (and readers) revel in the colors and in nature…. Wolff’s art—linoleum block prints hand-colored with watercolor—capture not only the glories of the natural world but also the loving relationship between parent and child. Satisfyingly, the book comes full circle, ending at bedtime: “‘Good night, Baby Bear,’ Mama says. ‘Good night, Mama,’ says Baby Bear. Then Baby Bear closes his eyes and sees nothing but deep, soft black.”

—The Horn Book, March/April 2012

“There’s no better way to teach little ones their colors than with the whimsical, wonder-filled “Baby Bear Sees Blue” by Ashley Wolff.”

—The Missourian, February 11-12, 2012

About the Author

Ashley Wolff is the author/illustrator of more than sixty books for children, including Block City by Robert Louis Stevenson, Baby Beluga by Raffi, the modern-classic Miss Bindergarten series by Joseph Slate, and her own Stella and Roy and Stella and Roy Go Camping. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and their border collie, Lucy. Visit her at AshleyWolff.com.

Product Details

• Age Range: 2 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Beach Lane Books; First Edition edition (February 7, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1442413069
• ISBN-13: 978-1442413061
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 10.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #64,740 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Proto Sal April 13, 2012

By E. R. Bird HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

I like to think of myself as having a low cutesy tolerance. Cute is fine. Cutesy is not. As a new mother, though, I find myself in the peculiar position of finding books cute that in my pre-maternal state I would have laughed off as saccharine. Suddenly When My Baby Dreams is a book I literally cannot stop staring at whenever it comes across my desk (it's unnerving how it plunges me into a near vegetative state) and Someday by Alison McGhee actually causes saltwater tears to form in my eyeballs against my will. Determined not to let the adorableness of the picture book world get to me I put up an extra coat of armor and trudged dutifully into my library to see what cropped up in the current season. Trouble is, that armor falls to pieces instantly when it comes in contact with something like Baby Bear Sees Blue. Not because it's cute (though it is). Not because it's beautiful (though it is). Not because it has a clever way of incorporating the theme of colors or because the writing is the perfect length or because it walks the tightrope between succinct and evocative (though it does, does, does). It's because the darn book does all these things at once. An infinitely touching and strikingly beautiful title, this is one little picture book that I'm not ashamed to openly love.

On a beautiful day with the sun rising high into the sky a little baby bear wakes up alongside his mama. Drawn to the new light he asks "Who is warming me, mama?" "That is the sun" she replies, so he sits and looks at it a while. Once they leave their den there are so many other things to see. Leaves are waving green. Birds are flying blue. Fish are swimming brown.... As the baby bear explores his world we see dark clouds slowly move in. At last the sky is gray, the rain falls, and the two bears are snug in their den again. As they watch, a rainbow appears, and then finally it's time to say goodnight in the velvety black of the cave.

Ashley Wolff's name will sound familiar to some of you out there. If you're a children's librarian like myself you may try to work out where you've seen her before. As the author and illustrator of more than sixty books my bet is that you probably know her best for her Miss Bindergarten series (Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten, etc.). Then there are the books she's worked on over the years that you'd remember if you saw them. For me, the Wolff books I've always known best were the illustrations for Raffi's Baby Beluga, Who Is Coming to Our House? board book and I recently had a friend recommend to the high hills the too little known (and now out-of-print) Only the Cat Saw. One thing I appreciated about the text in this newest book is that it's cute without ever getting too cute. So Baby Bear might say something like "Who is waving at me, Mama?" when he sees a leaf blowing in the breeze but his mother doesn't reply with any of those faux endearments like "my dearest one" or "my darling cub". The answer is straightforward and to the point. "That is the oak," she says. Additionally the writing combines informative text on colors with a story that's actually rather exciting. In the course of the day the baby bear experiences the world through shades and tones and then Ms. Wolff closes with a supremely clever and comforting "Then Baby Bear closes his eyes and sees nothing but deep, soft black." So on top of everything else, this is a bedtime book as well.

Though she is capable of using a variety of different illustration techniques it's Ms. Wolff's grasp of printing with linoleum blocks in black that impresses me the most. In this book the lines are much of the fun. Her art retains that sharp cut look of the block printing, but at the same time she's managed to soften the images. There's a great deal of painstaking work going on here. The best example of this for me was the two-page spread when the baby bear bats at orange butterflies. Look closely and you'll see the striations in the wings of the delicate insects both near to the viewer and far. Sometimes block printing has trouble with bends and curves. Wolff, however, seems to have no difficulty presenting everything from a bird's sloping beak to the bend of a mouse's back. Added to this are some particularly vibrant watercolors. It was interesting for me to note when Wolff chose to fill a page with color or simply dot a moment or two with a significant shade. When Baby Bear sees blue, the left-hand page fills with a bird so large and impressive that its wings don't fit the confines of the borders. Contrast this with "Baby Bear sees red" where a pair of tiny strawberries are mere splots of color in a sea of back fur and green foliage.

Normally when I review a book for kids I like to do it in a kind of self-inflicted vacuum. I refuse to read any other reviews for fear that I might inadvertently appropriate a turn of phrase or an idea. In this case, though, I sort of wanted to see what Goodreads made of the book so I broke my personal embargo. Interestingly enough I discovered comment after comment that mentioned this book in the same breath as Blueberries for Sal. Most of you, I'd wager, are familiar with that Robert McCloskey classic. It's the book that taught us all to recognize the sound of blueberries being dropped into a pail (a onomatopoetic sensation only rivaled by the sound of snowflakes going "peth peth peth" in Lynn Rae Perkins's Snow Music... but I digress). The comparison seemed a little strange to me at first since I couldn't find that there was too much in common between the books aside from the fact that they both contain cute baby bears and their mamas. Many is the children's librarian who has discovered that for all its charms Blueberries for Sal is impossible to read aloud to a group of squirmy toddlers or preschoolers (due to its length it's more of a one-on-one title). Baby Bear Sees Blue, on the other hand, is ideal for that age group. The length, the vibrant pictures, the wordplay, and the simple concept (colors) all combine to make it a surefire storytime hit. Finally I realized that the Goodreads folks kept invoking Sal not solely because of the baby bear but because on the book's flap Ms. Wolff credits McCloskey's classic as part of the inspiration for the tale.

Honestly the book this reminded me the most of was the Kevin Henkes picture book Old Bear. Like this book that one follows a bear through a variety of different hues. Yet while this one touches on all the colors of the rainbow in a single day, that one shows them in the context of their four seasons. Still, with their similar reading levels and simple text, these two books would be perfect complements to one another. Still on its own Baby Bear Sees Blue knows how to stand out. Though Ms. Wolff has plenty of books to her name, I suspect that this is going to be the one that sticks around for years and years and years and years. Infinitely comforting while remaining informative, this is for those kids who have graduated from board books but aren't quite ready to sit still for anything longer than 32 pages. A book that doesn't sacrifice good storytelling and gorgeous art for cute. A crowd pleaser for every age.

For ages 2-6. Read more ›

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful read-a-loud. May 8, 2012

By Heidi Grange

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is one of my favorite picture books published this year. Not only are the illustrations amazingly gorgeous, but the text reads smoothly and simply. I also appreciated how patient Mama Bear is with her very curious cub. She answers all his questions and lets him explore, but she is nearby should he get in trouble. This is a great book for teaching children to really see the world around them and the sights and smells that bring that world to life. It also makes for a tender bedtime story. It also works as a read-a-loud and is perfect for teaching about colors. Highly, highly recommended. I wouldn't be surprised if this book got some award love, in fact, I hope it does.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful illustrations! May 4, 2012

By Anna

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

If you are a fan of "Blueberries for Sal" you will enjoy this book. There is lots to see in each beautifully illustrated page.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful picture book April 6, 2012

By Carol Ekster

Format:Hardcover

As a former elementary school teacher and now as an author, I get so excited when I find a perfect picture book. Baby bear sees BLUE is such a book. It uses beautiful but simplistic language to explore baby bear's world and also introduces children to colors. It's wonderful for teachers to use as there is a predictable pattern for children to guess the color baby bear will see. Clever, creative, sweet, and well written, with beautiful illustrations, children will love this book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Mama Bear and Baby Bear April 6, 2012

By Catherine W. Hughes

Format:Hardcover

Baby Bear steps out of his cave to explore the world and its rainbow of colors, following the path and words of his Mama Bear. In a gentle back and forth, Baby Bear and his Mama Bear discover the colors of life on the earth, ending in quiet darkness. Young children, ages 2-5, will want to explore the world with Baby Bear.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An introduction to the world. March 15, 2012

By Regge Episale

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book by Ashley Wolff does introduce color but more than that it introduces the color of the world around us. Children will easily translate the colors Baby Bear finds in nature to the colors they find in their own backyard. It's a book with large, expressive, beautiful pictures that young children will enjoy. I can just imagine my own granddaughter pointing at the green trees around her and back to the picture in the book. Lovely. Baby Bear Sees Blue

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Love this beautiful book! September 27, 2012

By B. Denton

Format:Hardcover

This book has beautiful illustrations and the storyline is simple, with just the right amount of repetition, without being boring at all! My one-year-old loves it (and she won't sit through just any book!), and it is great for older toddlers and preschoolers, too. Highly recommend!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Colorful and sweet July 13, 2012

By Madigan McGillicuddy

Format:Hardcover

A lovely introduction to colors as Baby Bear and his Mama take a walk through nature. Block-printed watercolors are attractive and bright. Each page features one color prominently, without being monochromatic. The story culminates in a summer storm, and a rainbow, just before Baby Bear goes to sleep. This would make a really sweet goodnight story.