BABY BEAR’S Book of Tiny Tales written and illustrated by David McPhail contains four darling stories about Baby Bear and his friends. Young children will enjoy the short, simple stories as they follow Baby Bear’s good deeds such as finding the owner of a lost boot he pulled from the lake, showing Mama Bear a new flower, rescuing a baby bird from a hawk and making a new friend.
In the tale entitled Baby Bear Finds A Friend the little bear wants to play but Timmy Squirrel is not home, Bobby Raccoon is sleeping, Daisy Skunk is having a drum lesson and Ollie Owl is out to lunch! Not to worry because Baby Bear unexpectedly sees a little girl having a picnic with her dolls! She invites him for sandwiches and tea. When she brings forth a cake for dessert Baby Bear’s friends all show up and are invited to the fun.
The author illustrator accompanies the four tales with gentle illustrations full of cuddly curvy lines and soft pastel colors. There is humor tucked inside the pictures as well. For instance, when a hawk tries to grab a little bird that fell out of its nest Baby Bear is shown growling his best growl and waving his arms in earnest to scare the hawk away. The book has many visual literacy opportunities.
BABY BEAR’S Book of Tiny Tales written in a clear and sweet narrative and illustrated beautifully by David Mc Phail is a perfect picture book introduction to simple but delightful narratives for young children 3-6 years of age ( Little Brown and Company, 2018).
Questions for BABY BEAR’S Book of Tiny Tales (to be used with young children).
Turn to the illustration that shows Baby Bear and Owl discussing who owns the lost red boot. What do you think the words “who” and “Hoo” mean on this page? How are these two words, that sound the same, different?
The final double-page illustration shows nine figures enjoying the chocolate cake at the picnic. Six of these figures have names. Three figures, Julia’s dolls, do not have specific names. Study the pictures of the dolls and come up with a name for each one. Use your imagination. Have Fun!
Look at Julia’s picnic basket as shown in several illustrations. What could she have in the basket besides sandwiches? If you were going on a picnic and you had to fill the basket, what would you include? If you need two baskets that is fine.
