The Best Kind of Bear - Hardcover

Gormley, Greg

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 153620823X ISBN 13: 9781536208238

Publisher: Candlewick Press, 2019

Synopsis

When Nelly asks Bear what kind of bear he is, he isn't entirely sure how to answer. So off he goes to find out. But none of the different bears he meets on his travels are like him. Grizzly bears don’t have stitching; polar bears don’t have tags attached to their bottoms; spectacled bears are not as soft and bouncy as Bear is; and sun bears never wear bow ties. Disheartened, he returns to Nelly . . . only to discover what kind of bear he is — her own special bear!

About this title

About the Author:

Greg Gormley studied fine art and has written and illustrated a number of picture books for children. He is the author of The Prince and the Pee, illustrated by Chris Mould. Greg Gormley lives in Cambridge, England, with his family and spends his time arguing with academics about robots.

David Barrow won the Sebastian Walker Award for most promising student and is now living the dream making picture books as his full-time job. His first book was short-listed for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize. He currently resides in the wilds of Northamptonshire, England, with his partner, Jo, their son, and their overaffectionate cat.

Review:

The illustrations use shading, line, and speckles over muted browns, blues, and greens, emphasizing characters and sketching their settings. This heartwarming tale can be enjoyed as a simple story or used to talk about identity, relationships, and belonging. Thoughtfully layered and simply sweet.
—Kirkus Reviews

The rough line work and saturated colors of Bear and his new acquaintances create a cozy sense of familiarity, and layered watercolor washes, splashes of dots, and sharp striated strokes build the backdrop to Bear’s investigations, with occasional inked details accenting otherwise organic shapes. The issue of identity is adorably, if abruptly, resolved when our hero accepts Nelly’s offer to become her bear (thus becoming “the best kind of bear”), and little listeners want to snuggle their own stuffed animals after journeying with Bear.
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Barrow’s friendly illustrations, awash in painterly layers, lend each adventure-filled scene a storybooklike enchantment that’s a ready match for Bear’s identity quest.
—Publishers Weekly

About this edition

• Publisher: Candlewick Press
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 153620823X
• ISBN 13: 9781536208238
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Barrow David