FICTION

One Very Big Bear

by Alice BRIÈRE-HAQUET
tr. from French. illus. by Olivier Philipponneau & Raphaële Enjary. 32p. Abrams Appleseed. Oct. 2016. Tr $14.95. ISBN 9781419721175.
COPY ISBN
PreS-Gr 1—A polar bear stands on a chunk of ice and boasts of his size. When the other animals hear, they stand on one another's heads to show him that he's not that tall. The walruses teeter beside him and say, "We TWO are just as big as you!" As the tower of animals grows in size, so do the opportunities for counting and addition. The ending is something of a shock, but being that the main character is a wild polar bear, the last creatures who question his height (six sardines) make a perfect breakfast. The black-and-white illustrations are striking against the green sky. The column of animals on the right-hand page match the column of addition in the text on the left-hand page.
VERDICT A picture book for children who like a bit of a surprise when they are learning their numbers.
Reviewed by Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, Alta., Canada
The eponymous ONE polar bear laments his big size only to have a succession of animals stand atop one another to show that they can be just as big. This French counting book ends with a dark twist (involving SIX sardines) that promises to deliver one very big laugh. The spare, striking illustrations use a limited palette of white, black, and aquamarine.
 , Oct 01, 2016

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