Mama Bear, Little Bear

PreS-K—The bond between mother and child is powerful and profound. This story beautifully captures the essence of this relationship through a series of daily adventures of a pearl-wearing mother bear and her high-spirited cub. The mother is cautious, prudent, and sometimes exasperated with her cub: "Mama Bear wonders why Little Bear acts naughty. Little Bear wonders why Mama Bear always says 'don't.'" Little Bear is a dreamer and adventurer who is completely in tune with the natural world. Even though they may think differently about many things (for example, Mama Bear believes in "cleverness and hard work," while Little Bear believes in "dreams and magic"), they love each other completely. Further, they each know that their lives are made complete by the other. Ferri's illustrations have a softness and simplicity that complement the repetitive pattern of the text—two lines per page, with one line indicating Mama Bear's perspective and the other presenting Little Bear's point of view.