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The Christmas Bears
Christmas is coming, and there's a lot to be done – from baking cookies to sending out cards to decorating the tree. Ma, Pa, and their seven cubs take their preparations most seriously, for on Christmas Eve, Pa has a very important job to do. He loads the toys from his workshop into a sleigh and takes off to deliver them all over the world! And delightful endpapers show where the family's friends, such as the spectacled bear, snowy owl, and reindeer, live throughout the world.
With a simple, joyful rhyming text and her signature warm, detailed illustrations, Chris Conover celebrates the happy anticipation of Christmas that makes the season so wonderful.
With a simple, joyful rhyming text and her signature warm, detailed illustrations, Chris Conover celebrates the happy anticipation of Christmas that makes the season so wonderful.
40 pages, Hardcover
First published October 28, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
December 20, 2020
Seven little bear cubs prepare for Christmas in this cute holiday picture-book, making cards for their friends and cousins, decorating a tree, and joining their father - Santa Bear - in his workshop. Falling asleep safe and warm while their father takes off on his sleigh, they wake up the next morning to a very merry Christmas...
Published in 2008, The Christmas Bears is the thirteenth picture-book I have read from author/artist Chris Conover, and the seventh that she both wrote and illustrated. It pairs a simple text in rhyme with colorful, cute artwork. The bear characters include all different kinds of ursine species (polar bears, grizzly bears, and so on), and their geographic ranges are given on the endpapers, which show a map of the world. I don't know that this one is destined to be a seasonal favorite of mine, but it was sweet enough, and is one I would recommend to picture-book readers looking for cute animal-character Christmas stories.
Published in 2008, The Christmas Bears is the thirteenth picture-book I have read from author/artist Chris Conover, and the seventh that she both wrote and illustrated. It pairs a simple text in rhyme with colorful, cute artwork. The bear characters include all different kinds of ursine species (polar bears, grizzly bears, and so on), and their geographic ranges are given on the endpapers, which show a map of the world. I don't know that this one is destined to be a seasonal favorite of mine, but it was sweet enough, and is one I would recommend to picture-book readers looking for cute animal-character Christmas stories.
December 14, 2009
4 STARS ILLUSTRATIONS
3 STARS STORY
And this is, basically, a book of illustrations--the story is just a background. If you like bears, especially of the "Boyds Bears" tradition, then you will probably enjoy this book which is all about how a family of bears prepare for Christmas. I appreciated that Conover included a wide variety of bears, from the traditional black and grizzly bears to cute koalas to some lesser-known bears such as the sun bear--there is a map on the inside cover showing where the different types of bears live, so this is even "educational" in a way.
3 STARS STORY
And this is, basically, a book of illustrations--the story is just a background. If you like bears, especially of the "Boyds Bears" tradition, then you will probably enjoy this book which is all about how a family of bears prepare for Christmas. I appreciated that Conover included a wide variety of bears, from the traditional black and grizzly bears to cute koalas to some lesser-known bears such as the sun bear--there is a map on the inside cover showing where the different types of bears live, so this is even "educational" in a way.
December 4, 2021
Many little cubs help in the exciting Christmas preparations. The story is cute & sweet, but my stellar rating is mostly for the author's gorgeous illustrations. Very Christmassy!
December 27, 2016
The map on the inside cover is cool! & the different types of bears: brown bear, spectacled bear, snowy owl, cardinal, moon bear, sloth bear, sun bear, koala, panda, polar bear, American black bear, reindeer.
& they're holding dots that correspond to the map, showing where they're from.
I'm surprised the polar bear, the biggest bear, is the smallest drawn.
The pic on the inside cover of the bears building a snowman is so quaint.
I'm surprised they're taking the place of Santa, making toys, and Pa jumping in the sleigh with his sack of toys.
I like the page of the sleigh in the sky, with the town and things below that are faint looking. & the little bears standing below. I love that the illustrations in the background look faint, and different from the image in front, which is the sleigh. It's a nice contrast.
The bears wake up, and there's a random picture of a moose opening a soccer ball, with no mention if him. Then bam, it says Merry Christmas!
It was weird that all the different breeds of bears were living together.
& they're holding dots that correspond to the map, showing where they're from.
I'm surprised the polar bear, the biggest bear, is the smallest drawn.
The pic on the inside cover of the bears building a snowman is so quaint.
I'm surprised they're taking the place of Santa, making toys, and Pa jumping in the sleigh with his sack of toys.
I like the page of the sleigh in the sky, with the town and things below that are faint looking. & the little bears standing below. I love that the illustrations in the background look faint, and different from the image in front, which is the sleigh. It's a nice contrast.
The bears wake up, and there's a random picture of a moose opening a soccer ball, with no mention if him. Then bam, it says Merry Christmas!
It was weird that all the different breeds of bears were living together.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 16, 2009
This book earns most of its stars because of the adorable illustrations! And for Conover's use of various types of bears (polar, panda, grizzly, etc.).
The story was cute enough, though I was a tad confused (upon reflection I'm wondering if this Mr. Bear was the Bears' Santa Claus? Hm... I should reread it with that in mind).
Overall it was an enjoyable read, and even if it was nothing super memorable, it had a nice message of sharing and the spirit of Christmas.
The story was cute enough, though I was a tad confused (upon reflection I'm wondering if this Mr. Bear was the Bears' Santa Claus? Hm... I should reread it with that in mind).
Overall it was an enjoyable read, and even if it was nothing super memorable, it had a nice message of sharing and the spirit of Christmas.
May 1, 2021
I read this book to my 3 month old as a 25 days of Christmas reading tradition. My child and I enjoyed the story but most of all we enjoyed the illustrations and seeing the bears get ready for Christmas by baking cookies, sending out Christmas cards, decorating the tree, etc. There were different types of bears too such as panda bear, koala bear, polar bear, brown bear, American black bear, sun bear, spectacled bear, sloth bear, grizzly bear and I don't remember what else. And all the bears lived together!
March 1, 2018
Adorable book written all about Christmas if Santa were a bear. Beautifully illustrated and written simply.
January 20, 2022
Not a ton of story and almost painfully cute for my taste, but the illustrations were very sweet and Christmassy.
December 10, 2024
2.5 because there's not much text.
December 19, 2025
Love the artwork and the cozy tone
December 26, 2016
I LOVED the inside cover with the image of the world and the continents, with the Christmas animals and symbols of where they lived. That was such a unique and amazing idea. There was a brown bear, spectacled bear, snowy owl, cardinal, moon bear, sloth bear, sun bear, koala, panda, polar bear, American black bear and reindeer. The animals were so cute with their winter clothing on, with boggans, scarves, pants and jackets. It was such a learning experience to see on the map where the animals live and know what climate they existed in.
The writing was extremely simple and I didn't think rhyming suited it. The illustrations were a little old-fashioned. The animals looked more hairy that furry, and the reindeer's' antlers were fuzzy.
Having 9 different bears in one family was odd.
I didn't like how some of the pages didn't even have words. Every two pages would be two without words.
The reindeer was cute licking the envelopes of their Christmas letters. It was cute how they hung up food as ornaments in the trees for the birds to eat. And they had a tap in the tree that let them drizzle out sap as a topping on their ice cream. After stating that Christmas Eve supper had treats that the bears and and friends enjoyed to eat, I expected to learn what their diet was. It was a major oversight that the foods bear eat weren't included. A wasted opportunity for kids to learn about these animals, and that's when rhyming wasn't the best format.
Their green patchwork quilts were pretty. The reindeer was cute untying the bow on his soccer ball with his mouth.
I saved this to read second to last thinking it would be great, but there were a lot of missed opportunities and the simple writing with rhymes that weren't the best ruined it. It was a disappointment that the story didn't have more.
The writing was extremely simple and I didn't think rhyming suited it. The illustrations were a little old-fashioned. The animals looked more hairy that furry, and the reindeer's' antlers were fuzzy.
Having 9 different bears in one family was odd.
I didn't like how some of the pages didn't even have words. Every two pages would be two without words.
The reindeer was cute licking the envelopes of their Christmas letters. It was cute how they hung up food as ornaments in the trees for the birds to eat. And they had a tap in the tree that let them drizzle out sap as a topping on their ice cream. After stating that Christmas Eve supper had treats that the bears and and friends enjoyed to eat, I expected to learn what their diet was. It was a major oversight that the foods bear eat weren't included. A wasted opportunity for kids to learn about these animals, and that's when rhyming wasn't the best format.
Their green patchwork quilts were pretty. The reindeer was cute untying the bow on his soccer ball with his mouth.
I saved this to read second to last thinking it would be great, but there were a lot of missed opportunities and the simple writing with rhymes that weren't the best ruined it. It was a disappointment that the story didn't have more.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 12, 2013
A family of bears (of all kinds) prepare for Christmas with baking, Caribou postal service, tree-trimming, toy-making and delivery - complete with a reindeer and sleigh.
This book is characterized mostly by its remarkable illustrations, which truly steal the show. Though the text is sweetly rhymed, it is less memorable and only occurs on every other full-page spread. Since the painting is so enrapturing, some may not mind this. Personally, I feel that the flow of the story is disrupted when there are constant pauses to look at the next illustration void of text. Nonetheless, this is still a very sweet book that captures the warmth and simple pleasures of the Christmas season.
This book is characterized mostly by its remarkable illustrations, which truly steal the show. Though the text is sweetly rhymed, it is less memorable and only occurs on every other full-page spread. Since the painting is so enrapturing, some may not mind this. Personally, I feel that the flow of the story is disrupted when there are constant pauses to look at the next illustration void of text. Nonetheless, this is still a very sweet book that captures the warmth and simple pleasures of the Christmas season.
December 12, 2008
Sweetly cute almost to the point of saccharine. Toddlers will probably enjoy this and I am sure that adults who like to collect little bears dressed up in frilly outfits will ADORE it and buy it for their unsuspecting nieces, nephews and grandchildren.
January 11, 2009
detailed and sweet pictures help tell the tale of a bear family at christmastime. dad is a santa-type creature with a workshop and sleigh. family does all the typical seasonal things...baking cookies, addressing cards. could see for outreach.
January 4, 2009
cute story, with bears from around the world. book has maps on the inside cover that show where the bears live around the world.
Read
July 13, 2011The meter is off, but the illustrations are nice.
December 18, 2012
Beautiful illustrations; and a short enough text that even very young children can enjoy the book.
May 22, 2014
Very, very cute and fun Christmas selection, and so delightful as you begin to discover who Santa is in the story!
December 18, 2014
A cute simple story - great for toddlers.
January 17, 2017
Adored the illustrations. Main qualm is inclusion of panda and koala (?!) bears.
November 15, 2008
Sweet pictures and simple text. Bears are my favorite animal, so I loved the book.
March 11, 2009
rhyming text
nice illustrations
nice illustrations
Read
December 10, 2009"Christmas, excellent review, multi-ethnic bears,"
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews