Beginner Reader

Beginning Reader:
Adventures of Little Bear
Author: Else Holmelud Minarik
Pictures by Maurice Sendak
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publication Date: 1957

This is a compilation of Little Bear books, it is part of the “I Can Read Book” series.  It includes the stories Little Bear, Father Bear Comes Home, and A Kiss for Little Bear.
The first chapter is called, “What Will Little Bear Wear?”  Half the page is text and half the page is illustration.  This pattern continues for most of the book.  The text print is large, each line is one sentence, and each sentence is three to five words in length.  Words are repeated, and children will quickly recognize the words.  For example,  on the first page the word “snow” appears three times.  The simple text and drawings that illustrate the text make it a perfect beginners reading book.  The text also repeats important sight words.  The word “said” is used  fourteen times in the first chapter.   The situations are also familiar for young children.  Mother Bear wants Little Bear to wear a hat and coat, and Little Bear wants to go out and play.  The next chapter is about Little Bear’s birthday, and his friends come to his house to celebrate.  Words are repeated frequently, and become familiar and predictable.  It also has a reassuring message that his mother will never forget his birthday.  The next chapter is about Little Bear going to the moon.  Children can identify with Little Bear, who uses his imagination to go to the moon.   Little Bear made it there,  but came home in time for lunch. 
 The stories repeat familiar childhood experiences of Little Bear and his friends Hen, Duck, and Cat.  In the last story, "A Kiss For Little Bear", Little Bear draws a picture.  What is fun about this is that the picture he draws is in the style of Maurice Sendak when he wrote Where the Wild Things Are.  Little Bear draws a picture of a monster that looks like something from Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are.  This is in contrast to the Little Bear illustrations which are very realistic (even though the bears are wearing clothes).  The pictures are old fashioned, detailed and charming.  Also, even with their human like clothes and characteristics, Little Bear and his family really do look like bears.  The animal drawings are realistic, the cat looks like a cat, the hen looks like a hen.  Skunks, owls, frogs, and other creatures are drawn in a way that is naturalistic. The animal drawings could be in a non-fiction text about animals,  But the animal characters do human things, like fall in love and get married. 
The stories are comforting for children.  They show a loving family and tender scenes.  The text gets more difficult from the beginning of the book to the end of the book.  A child would become a more advanced reader after finishing this book.  The text starts out as “It is Cold.  See the Snow.  I am Cold.”  By the end of the book, the sentence is something like, “‘This picture makes me happy’, said Little Bear”.  I think this is a great beginning read because of the simple sentence structures, repetition of words, and pictures that go along with the text.  I give it 5 out of 5 stars.