Honey Paw and Lightfoot

by Jonathan London, Jon Van Zyle (Illustrator)

In the heart of winter a grizzly cub is born. In the spring, he follows his mother as she shows him where to find food and protects him from the dangerous wilderness.

Genres: Picture Books, Nature, Childrens, Animals

Library Binding

First published March 1, 1995

About the author

Jonathan London is the author of several celebrated children's books. His commitment to honoring the wonders of the natural world has been lauded by readers and critics alike. He is the author of more than 70 children's books, many of which are about nature. He's also the author of the popular Froggy series. He lives in Graton, California with his wife and two sons.

Reviews

[Shawn Deal · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are great books. Mr. London is trying to show the beauty of animals in many of his stories. He also gives respect to the Native American tribes who told stories of these great animals. This story is about the life of a female bear who has a baby cub.

[Aneesa]

This book begins "In the bushy willow bottomland" and gets racier from there.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Became enamored with Jon Van Zyle's paintings after encountering his contributions to the Alaska show at Seattle's Frye Art Museum (One of the
Top Ten Free Museums in the U.S.)
I've been checking out each of his
children's books ever since. This is my favorite so far. The author and illustrator are in sync, and the beauty of the paintings and accompanying story are both extraordinary.

[Janin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good realistic fiction that was very subtle and deftly sidestepped mating and violence without outright ignoring that they happen. The information at the back was also very insightful and interesting.

[Stacy Renee (LazyDayLit) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like that this picture book tells a factual story about a day in the life of a real bear. It was a nice read after endless amounts of cartoon animals dressed in clothes, talking, and doing everyday human things.

[Christine Doiron · Rating 3 out of 5]

The paintings are beautiful but the story isn’t much of a story as far as small children are concerned, and it’s a little sad and stressful to boot. Good if you really want to learn about the lives of bears though in an almost nonfictional way.

[Sean Harding · Rating 3 out of 5]

London Odyssey #77
Another book featuring animals and the natural world wrapped around a tale.
The ongoing "series" of books continues to engage young readers with the wider natural world around them.

[Miss Lou · Rating 3 out of 5]

His favorite page "SPLASH!"

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good addition to our nature story collection.

[KaitandMaddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This does a good job of conveying the details of a cub’s growth and the different ways bears act during each season, with a bit of drama at the end.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.3

Most (all?) books about animals for young readers follow the life of one animal. This book is no exception. That's not a criticism; it is a logical way to present wildlife Biology. This differs in that it emphasizes the way natives of various countries have perceived the bears.

From the Author's Note
For Native Americans, and native people all across Eurasia, to speak the name 'bear' was to invoke its power. Instead, out of respect for the bears, they were given nicknames.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would give it 10 stars if I could.

It is hard for me to describe how
much I truly love and adore this
picture book.

[Julia Jasztal · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Mommy's review from 5/12)

This isn't a book I'd have picked up for Julia. The cover and subject are fine but the actually story just isn't for us so much. It's certainly okay, even good, just not exceptional and I try to find exceptional when I pick our books.
Julia took this home from her school library this past week and that tells me she's already run through all of the books on dinosaurs they have. That or she didn't have much time. Only two explanations.
We read this yesterday because it's due back but it's telling that since the day she brought it home, last Tuesday, (today is Sunday) she's chosen to read several of her own books and other library books while passing this by.
We finally had to read it since it's due back in two days and we both thought it was okay. I forget what word was used in the description but neither of us were "entranced" or "enamored".