Can You Growl Like a Bear?

by John Butler

This adorable read-aloud features appealing baby animals and a rhyming text that is sure to please.
From trumpeting like an elephant to howling like a wolf, author-illustrator John Butler delights the very young with this simple, interactive look at different animals and the noises they make.
Butler’s lavish double-page portraits feature wide-eyed animals in their natural surroundings. The simple text invites young children to mimic the animals’ sounds. When all the animals are quiet, readers are encouraged to imitate their animal friends one last “It’s time to gently close your eyes and fall fast asleep.”

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Storytime, Childrens, Fiction, Juvenile, Peer Review

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2007

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

writer and illustrator - lives in Kent, South East England.

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Butler's books are generally great for storytime!

[Raina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really gorgeous illustrations - not the edgy style I usually go for, but beautiful, soft, clean, and plenty large for storytime. Every spread pictures one animal and asks the reader to make a noise like the animal in one sentence. The text rhymes (over the course of several pages). The first spread pictures a selection of animals and introduces the format, the last spread pictures several animals again and invites the viewer to go to sleep.

Themes: Animals, Bedtime, Noises

[Cosette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book. Unfortunately, my daughter is wise beyond her years and thought it too silly.

[John Yelverton · Rating 3 out of 5]

The artwork is good in this book, but it is just a book asking children to make the sounds of different animals.

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pictures in this book are so engaging! So cute and cuddly and peaceful! A perfect goodnight book.

** Talking Points - Which of the animals in this book do you like most? OR Which animal do you like most and why? Would you want any of the animals in this book as a pet? Why or why not? If you create an animal what would it be like? Growing up were you allowed to have a pet? Are you more or less generous with your children than your parents were with you when it comes to pets?

** Essential Oil Pairing Tip - This book seems like a bedtime book, so I'd be diffusing some Lavender, some Petitgrain or some of doTERRA's Serenity restful blend.

[Craig Sisterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a delightful kids picture book, simple but enchanting for the little ones. My three-year-old was quiet at the start, but was soon making all the animal sounds as we went through the book, and wanting an immediate re-read. The illustrations are in a more classic, realistic style than the Tony Ross/Axel Scheffler vivid and cartoonish style that's often popular nowadays (and we love too).

A good array of animals, the little ones get entertained plus learn plenty about the animal kingdom in what is a simple but lovely rhyming tale. Worth a look.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goodreader, now's your perfect chance to make animal noises: many different kinds of animal noises. And you know what else is a treat with this particular book?

Illustrations are so vivid, they're practically like the pictures in a pop-up book. Author and illustrator John Butler has done a rousing job here.

My recommendation? Cast aside all dignity until you've finally closed the cover of this book. Make lots of noise, the more the better, the more outrageous the funnier.

My rating? FIVE STARS, of course.

[Ame · Rating 5 out of 5]

The kids love making animal sounds, so this is the perfect book to keep them engaged!

[June · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another one that has a size issue for programs. Also some of the sounds I feel are more appropriate for older children and the board books are considered books for our younger patrons.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a wonderful book for a storytime about animals. Each page introduces an animal and the sound they make, including an action that animal is making. The illustrations are amazing.

[Beronica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect for 2-3 year old storytime! Kids are drawn to this book and have fun making the noises! The illustrations are the perfect size and are wonderfully done!

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I just really like John Butler books for toddler storytime. They are perfect.

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun book! This is great as an interactive story, allowing the kids to make the noises of the different animals. Very fun! Great illustrations as well, and a simple, beautiful picture book.

[The Unabridged Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was sweet! The adorable pictures and the rhyming words had us mimicking the animals’ noises right before my toddler’s bedtime. Although, I’m not really sure what a snuffling panda sounds like...

[Rachael Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute pictures. This book is so much fun for engaging with children in story time! Getting them to make the different animal sounds was fun and funny!

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be such a fun book for story times, if your library doesn't mind some extra noise! The illustrations are great, kids love animals, and they should have a blast making all of those different noises.

[Kristin Gardner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is very sweet. The book is quite short but it asks the reader if they can do certain things like a bear. This would be a great bedtime story for children. Cute story!

[Dana Franklin · Rating 5 out of 5]

It shows the noises you can make and also the noises the animals make. They also introduce the children to the different kinds of animals.

[Candice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love John Butler's illustrations. His animals are softly colored and beautifully detailed. You can imagine running your fingers through the fur of one of his bears. As the title implies, this book encourages children to make animal noises. The rhyming text takes the reader from animals to birds to insects. I was imagining how much fun it would be to read this to a child who is just learning to talk and make sounds. But at the end, it seems to be a bedtime book because, "It's time to gently close your eyes and fall fast asleep." I didn't think that followed well from encouraging the activity of growling, howling, croaking, buzzing and roaring. This seems more of a daytime book that leads to play rather than a bedtime book.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can You Growl Like a Bear by John Butler is truly beautiful book that brings animals to life on the pages in an artistic and imaginatively fun way. The book itself is large in size and has wonderful colors and drawings that interested my two year old son. This book was so interactive; he loved to make the animal sounds that were depicted in the illustrations. We have used this book as a platform to discuss animals and their locations and habitats, the fact that the text is simple allows him to use his imagination and make up stories about the animals and what they are doing in day to day life. This is a wonderful book that allows the imagination to take hold and expand. Great book to jump start the love of animals. This would be a great book for children ages 2 and up that enjoys interactive books about animals.

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Few words. Large illustrations. I like the gentle use of colors, too. A good book to teach about animal sounds, which is the storytime I have in mind for this one.

3/2/10 & 3/4/10: It did work well. I read it better on Thursday and tried to involved the children more, but the large Tuesday group seemed to enjoy it more. Or maybe that's because there was one very vocal child who seemed to get the others mimicking the sounds, too.

4/28/11 The first, larger, and parent-involved group did so well with this. The second group was smaller and with very few of my regulars--they didn't get involved much. Both groups liked the end, though. Snuffling is something I guess we all understand!

[Kandolo Baze]

Great book for story time and platform to discuss animals , their locations and habitats. Children will bring animals to live by learning and making the animal sounds.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best for kids ages 3 and up.
Early Literacy Skills: Print Motivation, Print Awareness, Vocabulary, Phonological Awareness, Narrative Skills

Can you growl like a bear, rollin in the snow?
Can you chatter like a chimp swinging to and from

10 different animals make an appearance is the adorable tale that will help you kids get ready for bedtime. Your kids will want to join in on the story and trumpet like a elephant or snuffle like a panda on their way to sweet dreams. Soft, pastel-like illustration are both beautiful and eye catching making this an instant family classic.

[Brenda Quinones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very simple book. Loved the illustrations. It teaches children about different animals and how they communicate. Also, children can learn about their habitat, what they do and eat, ho big or small among other things.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can you growl like a bear? Chatter like a chimp? What about buzz like a bee? This read is a great way to introduce a variety of animals and noises they make to younger kids. This read is not only informative, but fun and interactive to the max! During story time, reading this book between longer stories is a wonderful way to let the kids be silly and get some extra energy out. I would absolutely recommend this book to others and I am definitely keeping this book on hand for future story times.

[C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely want to check this out when my son gets a bit older as it encourages noises and I suspect he'd get a kick out of making those noises when he's a little older and can make them. It wasn't the best for him currently (10 mo.), but had pretty illustrations and should be fun in another year or two.

[Alia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This really is a great story-time book for the younger kids. I would have rated it higher but I really felt the art did nothing to enhance the text. And the text on it's own is just not that imaginative.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was reading this book with one of my kindergarten music classes and realized that howling like a wolf can be a great way to get my boys to find their singing voices! I think this one just earned a permanent spot in my yearly reading rotation.

[Kelly Holmes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing stood out to me as extraordinary in this book. The illustrations are sweet, and the text is simple. It's also fun to read out loud and make the different animal sounds. But nothing special enough to make me want to own it or even check it out from the library again.

[Kari · Rating 3 out of 5]

I usually really love John Butler's work for very young readers...they make great read alouds. This one is probably my least favorite...just doesn't work as well for me. Always love the illustrations, and the kids are of course always drawn to baby animals.