Love Songs of the Little Bear [Hardcover]

Margaret Wise Brown (Author), Susan Jeffers (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up

From Margaret Wise Brown, the author of the beloved classic, Goodnight Moon, here are four never before published poems, illustrated with stunning gouache paintings by Susan Jeffers. Celebrating the profound in everyday moments and simple things, these poems combine to tell the sweet and tender tale of a well-loved little bear. Follow him through the seasons of the year, as he experiences the wonders of the world for the first time.

Together, Brown and Jeffers have created an ode to the power of parental love and the ways in which it carries a child through the joys of discovery.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This fitful collection of four previously unprinted poems by the author of Goodnight Moon proves that posthumous publication is risky business. The art, dynamically presented, has the tenderness of Jeffers's work in the McDuff series as well as the illustrator's well-developed sensitivity to nature. As Jeffers envisions the verses, a bear family explores four seasons of a world filled with fields of white daisies, streams with puddle ducks, flower-bedecked cottages and an especially picturesque snowfall. But even the beauty and sweetness of Jeffers's images, the warmth of the bear family and the varied perspectives Jeffers employs do not add enough luster to bolster the unpolished text. Little Bear's first "song," for example, includes these lines: "A little bear was singing/ In words that seemed to say/ It's a long time that/ I'll love you/ Never, never go away/ It's a long time that I'll love you/ And if I seem to stray/ It's only that I'm watching/ The flowers bloom in May." The language, unfortunately, lacks the rhythm, simplicity and long-lasting literary merit on which Brown's reputation is based. Ages 3-6.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1-Filled with warmth and wonder, these four previously unpublished poems take a bear cub through the seasons. In the first, the youngster is swept away by the splendors of spring. As he walks with his mother through blossom-filled meadows, he reassures her: "It's a long time that I'll love you/And if I seem to stray/It's only that I'm watching/The flowers bloom in May." In "Green Song," he takes a pail and shovel to explore a field of wildflowers where "-little things creep/In their green grass forests deep/Deep in their long-stemmed world." On a wet autumn day, the little bear ventures out with a bright yellow umbrella and listens to the rhythmic songs of the wind and the rain. The final selection, "Snow Song," has a calming, quiet pace that is well suited to the subject and makes a fitting end piece ("Snow snow/Slow slow/In the soft fall of the snow/The little boats go"). The poems use simple language, gentle repetition, familiar images, and appealing rhythms that will capture the attention and imaginations of young listeners. Varying from smaller vignettes to full- and double-page spreads, the gouache paintings tie the poems together nicely by creating a strong visual story line. The outdoor scenes are lush and inviting, and show each of the seasons at its best. Jeffers does a wonderful job of expressing the little bear's relationship with his mother and the excitement that he feels with each new experience. A delightful choice for group sharing or enjoying one-on-one.
Joy Fleishhacker, formerly at School Library Journal
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children; 1st edition (April 30, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786805099
• ISBN-13: 978-0786805099
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 10.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,604,904 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Margaret Wise Brown wrote hundreds of books and stories during her life, but she is best known for Goodnight Moon and Runaway Bunny. Even though she died over 45 years ago, her books still sell very well. Margaret loved animals. Most of her books have animals as characters in the story. She liked to write books that had a rhythm to them. Sometimes she would put a hard word into the story or poem. She thought this made children think harder when they are reading. She wrote all the time. There are many scraps of paper where she quickly wrote down a story idea or a poem. She said she dreamed stories and then had to write them down in the morning before she forgot them. She tried to write the way children wanted to hear a story, which often isn't the same way an adult would tell a story. She also taught illustrators to draw the way a child saw things. One time she gave two puppies to someone who was going to draw a book with that kind of dog. The illustrator painted many pictures one day and then fell asleep. When he woke up, the papers he painted on were bare. The puppies had licked all the paint off the paper. Margaret died after surgery for a bursting appendix while in France. She had many friends who still miss her. They say she was a creative genius who made a room come to life with her excitement. Margaret saw herself as something else - a writer of songs and nonsense.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of our Favorites!, August 24, 2004

By 

Daniel delSobral (Eastern Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Love songs of the little bear (Hardcover)

This is a neat book, one that both I and my 2.5 year old son like a lot.

If I understand the notes at the end of the book, the illustrator recently created pictures to accompany poetry written by Margaret Wise Brown (Goodnight Moon), so this is actually a new book. There are four poems, one per season.

My son enjoys the pictures - there's one that depicts a bear looking at a bunch of bugs that he likes a lot, and another 4 panel illustration that shows the little bear and his mother playing hide-and-seek around a large tree that he also likes. I enjoy the poetry: for some reason, I find the words profoundly moving.

Anyway, this is one of the few books we both like, and we read it at least once a day (and both still like)!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful collection of M. Brown -author of Goodnight Moon, February 21, 2002

By 

Cheri L. Miller "tissa1020" (RSM, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Love Songs of the Little Bear (Hardcover)

This is a must have for anyone who loves Goodnight Moon. This is a WONDERFUL collection of Margaret's work. Several of the poems and stories are published here for the first time. All are just as gentle and kid-friendly as the famous Goodnight Moon.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gentle series of encounters suitable for the very young, June 8, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love Songs of the Little Bear (Hardcover)

Love Songs Of The Little Bear presents four new poems by Brown, illustrated with lovely gouache paintings by Jeffers. Simple interactions between a young bear and the seasons blends with a warm family setting in this gentle series of encounters suitable for the very young.