Buddy Bear and the Bad Guys - Hardcover

James Cross Giblin is the author of more than 20 critically acclaimed books for young people. His most recent book for Clarion, The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler, received the Robert F. Sibert Award for Informational Books. Mr. Giblin lives in New York City.

PreSchool-Grade 2-A clunky, chunky bear in a striped T-shirt, checked shorts, and untied hightops wants to give his parents a treat, so he picks blueberries and catches fish in the stream. As soon as he collects his gifts, however, three raccoons in cowboy boots and neckerchief masks grab them. Buddy is too scared to do anything but run home. His parents are sympathetic, but remind him that bears are bigger than raccoons and shouldn't fear them. So the next time, when the bullies steal the cub's honeycomb, he shakes them by their tails and orders them out of the forest. This works, and he returns home proudly. The text is simple and punchy, with lots of dialogue. Stevens's bright, action-filled, full-color illustrations are effectively integrated with the text. A technique of exaggerated realism shows the pudgy, pleasant parents; their sweet, timid son; and the bristlingly threatening thieves with humor and expressiveness. The moral is obvious, but it's too bad that force is required to solve the problem.
Patricia Pearl Dole, formerly at First Presbyterian School, Martinsville, VA
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.