Big Black Bear

by Wong Herbert Yee

Big Black Bear learns his manners after he barges in on Little Girl at the Brown Brick House on Sycamore Street. By the author of Eek! There's a Mouse in the House.

Genres: Picture Books, Humor, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 27, 1993

About the author

I was born in Detroit, Michigan, one of seven. My first grade teacher tacked a drawing of mine, Horse with Feedbag up on the bulletin board. From there I went on to study art at Wayne State University, graduating in 1975 with a BFA in printmaking. I had my fair share of rejections at the start, but through perseverance my first picture book, EEK! There’s a Mouse in the House was published by Houghton Mifflin in 1992. My latest early reader, Mouse and Mole Fine Feathered Friends received a 2010 Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Award.

Reviews

[Aneesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Your three-year-old will love this.

[Milton Louie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The kids knew that Big Black Bear was not being nice. B

[Seth · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 1 year old and 4 year old love this book, and it’s one I don’t mind reading over and over.

[Jane Stadermann · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you are up against the likes of Dr Seuss and Julia Donaldson, making a rhyming kid's book is high risk. Nevertheless, that's what keeps the steady pace in Big Black Bear, which is a delight to read. A naughty bear pushes his rude way into a house and starts demanding from the little girl who lives there.

Basically the story is about manners. What makes it highly enjoyable is that there is no preaching or condescending attitude towards the reader/little listener. A kid generally knows what being polite and amicable means and Yee acknowledges this by making the little girl in the book voice the disapproval. Mother bear comes in to finally put the bear in his place.

Not sure how the illustrations, which look remarkably like something from an Adobe program, were made, seeing the book was published over 20 years ago, prior to the everyday use of design programs...maybe old-school cut and paste, as in cutting out shapes and pasting them. Maybe they are simple poster paints. Or maybe prints as that is what the maker studied at uni.

[JustOneMoreBook.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

Snappy rhyme and funky, expressive illustrations tell a quick and entertaining tale of boundaries, bad behaviour and the baby inside the bully. Our girls are just as tickled by this book now, at ages 5 and 7, as they were during its billions of readings in their toddler years.

Listen to our chat about this book on our JustOneMoreBook.com Children's Book Podcast:

http://www.justonemorebook.com/2007/0...

[***Dave Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A scary, silly tale - My 3-year-old girl got this for her birthday, and just loves it. It's a bit scary, as the bear misbehaves, but it's also silly, and she enjoys seeing him get his comeuppance. The rhymes are fun, too. The art is a bit crude, but the story is very enjoyable.

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very cute story about manners. My boys enjoyed it.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good lesson book for bad behavior.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rhyming text. Brightly colored, two-dimensional, expressive illustrations. Funny. Bear gets his comeuppance when his mother shows up and reminds him to mind his manners. Use with ages 3-5 yrs.

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pre-K, phonological awareness, narrative skills, good manners.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Big black bear just barges into the house of a girl. No manners and doesn't seem to think he needs to use politeness until someone else tells him otherwise in the end.

[D Nine · Rating 5 out of 5]

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