Fourth of July Bear

by Kathryn Lasky, Helen Cogancherry (Illustrator)

Spending summer vacation on a Maine island, Rebecca misses her best friend Emily until she meets Amanda, who invites Rebecca to be in the Fourth of July parade

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Holiday

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Kathryn Lasky, also known as Kathryn Lasky Knight and E. L. Swann, is an award-winning American author of over one hundred books for children and adults. Best known for the Guardians of Ga’Hoole series, her work has been translated into 19 languages and includes historical fiction, fantasy, and nonfiction.

Reviews

[Set · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the story and the innocence of making a friend in a new place. But to be quite honest, the people are rather ugly, although, the drawings are nicely drawn.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I discovered this book at our local library and thought it might be a fun read for the holiday. It was. And I often marvel at the coincidences in my reading selections. This time, I thought it was a marvelous coincidence that I insisted on reading it to our girls and a friend who slept over. This friend will be moving away soon and we are sad, but trying to make the most of the time they have remaining here to have play dates and sleepovers.

This story is somewhat bittersweet; Rebecca is sad to move away from her old home and best friend, Emily. She resents the new location and is reluctant to make a new friend. But as the story progresses the two girls slowly warm up to one another through new, shared experiences. Overall, we thought this was a very nice tale and the illustrations are wonderful. We really enjoyed reading this book together.

[Julie Ditton · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a lot of nonfiction Independence Day picture books available, but not lot with cute stories. This sweetstory follows a young girl who is moving and misses her old home and best friend. She slowly warms up to another youngster as they get ready to participate in the Fourth of July parade dressed in bear costumes. The book does not explain the reason for bear costumes for Fourth of July (nor the wisdom of such a costume in July heat).But if you are searching for a cute book for the holiday this will entertain six to eight year olds.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a decent Fourth of July story. These are few and far between so it will be helpful to be familiar with it.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book. First it is about Maine. Second it is about Fourth of July. I cute story not an all time favorite but good enough to have a Fourth of July Summer sort of feel!