Bears in Picture Books

Let's talk about bears! 

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr/Eric Carle (Henry Holt) 
Brown Bear might be the most famous picture book bear of all.  But he does have to share the this rhyming book with Yellow Duck, Blue Horse, Red Bird, Green Frog and others...

So if you want MORE BEARS...well you'll just have to check out More Bears by Kenn Nesbitt/Troy Cummings (Sourcebooks).  In this wacky picture book, an author sits down to write a book that has nothing to do with bears, but his audience keeps demanding MORE BEARS - until there are so many bears, the story collapses.

If you are looking for more serious bears, then dive into the non-fiction treat Bears! Bears! Bears! by Bob Barner (Chronicle) that introduces the major bears around the world (polar bear, sun bear, panda bear, sloth bear, and more) in lovely illustrations.  In the back, you get some bear facts and a world map of bears. Find out more at the author's website (Flash + sound).

Or maybe you prefer a sweet bedtime story with only polar bears? How about Polar Bear Night by Lauren Thompson/Stephen Savage (Scholastic)?  In it, a polar bear cub takes a moonlit walk and sees a sleeping walrus, sleeping seals and whales and finally a star shower. 

And then there's the realistically portrayed friendship between Bug and Bear by Ann Bonwill/Layn Marlow (Oxford UK, Marshall Cavendish US). Bear is tired and grumpy, annoyed that bug wants to play games.  Bear tries many ways to ditch bug, but finally they find an activity they can do together. Find out more at the author's website!

For more suggestions, see this list of bear picture books at Flashlight Worthy Books and this list of bear picture books at Squidoo.

What are your favorite picture books featuring bears?