Bear Stays Up for Christmas
Author: Karma Wilson
"The day before Christmas,
snuggled on his floor,
Bear sleeps soundly
with a great big snore...."
Bear's friends are determined to keep Bear awake for Christmas! So they wake Bear up and have him help them find a Christmas tree, bake cakes, hang up stockings, and sing Christmas songs. Bear stays up -- by discovering that giving is one of the best Christmas presents!
How a SURPRISE visit from someone very special gives Bear and his friends a Christmas to remember makes an enchanting holiday story for young readers. With Karma Wilson's memorable text and Jane Chapman's glowing illustrations, Bear Stays Up for Christmas is a book to cherish throughout the year.
The New York Times - Sandra Dutton
Jane Chapman's illustrations show animals that are startlingly realistic. Bear has dark whiskers and long, curved claws that are always at rest in his huge, furry paws. Badger's face, with its masklike brown-and-white pattern, is beautifully delineated; and Raven, dark and brooding, has a thoughtful, engaged expression. Bear's pals Wren, Gopher, Mole and Hare also appear in all three books.
Publishers Weekly
Bear's thoughtful buddies rouse him from his deep hibernation nap just in time for Christmas Eve. With creative planning, the animals get their ursine friend into the holiday spirit-and the Yuletide preparations. And by the time Santa makes his appearance, guess who's tuckered out? (Not a certain Bear.) This duo's latest Bear book sustains the sweetness and humor of its predecessors (Bear Snores On; Bear Wants More) via rhyming, read-aloud-ready text and soft acrylic scenes of the cuddly creatures and wintry landscapes. Ages 3-7. (Oct.)
School Library Journal
Kids will ask for this book again and again.
Dr. Judy Rowen - Children's Literature
Bear normally hibernates in the winter, so he misses Christmas. His forest friends want to share the holiday with him, so Mouse shouts in his ear to awaken him and the animals agree to keep Bear busy so he will stay awake. Bear carries the Christmas tree back to his lair and the other animals decorate it. The animals are anthropomorphic enough to stand on their hind legs to stir popcorn and string it for the tree, but their surroundings are the snowy forest. Most of the text rhymes, which even forces a grammatical error: "He plods very slow/as they trudge through the snow." Will Bear stay awake to greet Christmas? And what is the perfect gift for a sleepy Bear? Bear has appeared in at least two other books—Bear Snores On and Bear Wants More; children who loved the first two in the series will undoubtedly enjoy this addition. 2004, Margaret K. McElderry/Simon & Schuster, Ages 3 to 7.
School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 2-It's the day before Christmas, and Bear's friends have gathered in his lair to wake him up to celebrate the holiday. They get a tree, pop corn and bake fruitcake, and hang stockings and hum songs. The others doze off, but Bear keeps busy wrapping presents, baking cookies, and decorating, unaware that a certain plump, red-suited gentleman is watching from outside the cave. The rhyming text sings, shouts, whispers, and crows, and the appealing acrylic illustrations are dear. This is an exuberant tale of friendship and perseverance, and holiday storytimes will be the brighter for it.-M. A.
Kirkus Reviews
In this third story about Bear and his friends, Bear struggles to stay awake during the group's holiday preparations. On Christmas Eve, all the other animals fall asleep, but Bear stays up all night making presents for the others. He's so busy with his work that he misses the appearance of Santa, who pauses at the cave door to fill all their stockings. On Christmas morning, the smaller animals enjoy their own gifts and then surprise Bear with a comfy quilt for his long-awaited winter slumber. The rollicking rhyming text is punctuated with the regular refrain of "but the bear stays up," which will surely be chanted gleefully by children listening to this story. The illustrations do a fine job with animal expressions and with difficult situations such as a mole popping corn and a Raven stirring up some fruitcake. The oversized format includes many double-page spreads with the bumbling, big-hearted bear in action and then finally settling down for a long winter's nap, after which Bear had better be back. (Picture book. 3-7)
See also: Kiss Dieting Goodbye or A Guide to Survivorship for Women with Ovarian Cancer
Fancy Nancy: The Dazzling Book Report
Author: Jane OConnor
Nancy's first book report is sure to be dazzling. After all, she is the second-best artist in her class. She is using beads, fringe, and a fancy border. And she is writing about Sacajawea, a true-life heroine. What could go wrong?
Join Nancy as she learns that you can't judge a book report by its cover! With simple text and vibrant illustrations, this newest addition to the Fancy Nancy I Can Read series will delight readers young and old.
School Library Journal
K-Gr 1—Monday is Library Day and Fancy Nancy is thrilled that she gets to pick out a book ("It is like getting a present for a week!") and write a report about a real person. She chooses Sacajawea, "…a princess [who] lived two hundred years ago out West." Somehow, however, Nancy is only able to concentrate on the artistic masterpiece she creates for the cover of her assignment, and leaves herself time to write a report of only two sentences before falling asleep. The girl needs a true heroine to come to the rescue when she presents her report, and her understanding teacher rises to the occasion. The text contains short sentences, an easy-on-the-eyes font size, and plenty of white space. New "fancy" words are defined throughout the text and in a glossary. This artistic endeavor is accompanied by the expected colorfully detailed illustrations. A welcome addition for independent readers.—Mary Elam, Learning Media Services Plano ISD, TX
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