From Publishers Weekly
Sure to be a ready favorite, this fourth Jesse Bear picture book has a warm, family-centered charm. A refrain asks Jesse, "How do you say it today?" (that is, say "I love you" in ways that reflect each month from January to December). Carlstrom's repetitive narrative and easy rhymes bounce merrily along (the text for July, accompanying an ursine Independence Day celebration, reads "With flags that I wave / As bands pass in parade, / I say it with stars today"). Meanwhile, Degen's detailed, affectionate pen-and-ink and watercolor art, in illuminated borders and in variously sized scenes, depicts Jesse's father and mother clad in party hats and wielding noisemakers on New Year's Eve; Jesse and father serving mother breakfast amid her floral-patterned bed linens; all three bears opening Christmas gifts in a festooned living room; and other timely scenes. His colors and compositions are cheerful throughout. Once again, a winning combination. Ages 3-6.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 1-- Jesse Bear's latest outing finds the cub celebrating holidays and special times throughout the year with his loving family. As in previous titles, Carlstrom's bouncy, rhyming text is paired with Degen's appealing illustrations. From a New Year's Eve party to a Fourth of July parade, Halloween pumpkin carving, a cozy Christmas scene, and beyond, the book features a full year of fun. Decorative borders incorporate details from the illustrations and set off the imaginative answers that Jesse Bear gives in response to the title question. Just what the young bear is saying is not revealed until the final page, but perspicacious preschoolers may catch Degen's visual clues and figure out for themselves that the message Jesse shouts, sings, whispers, and rings is ``I love you.'' This team does a fine job of combining the seasonal theme with a pleasing portrait of familial love, all wrapped up in snappy verse and bright, cheery illustrations. Hooray for Jesse Bear (again)! --Lisa Dennis, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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