When Will It Be Spring?

by Catherine Walters

The creator of The Dog Who Found Christmas introduces the not-so-sleepy bear cub, Alfie, who searches for signs of spring in his winter woodland home, but when spring in all its glory does finally arrive, someone is caught napping!

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Fiction, Fantasy, Storytime, Nature

32 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1997

Reviews

[Unidentified · Rating 2 out of 5]

خرس کوچولو! وقتی بزرگ شدی، می فهمی خواب چقد لذت بخشه و دیگه واسه بیدار شدن عجله نمیکنی...
کاش ما هم مث خرسا میتونستیم بریم تو خواب زمستونی و وقتی بیدار شدیم بهار شده باشه...

[Nahida Akther · Rating 3 out of 5]

When will it be Spring? By Catherine Walters is a book about a bear names Alfie.
It is Alfie’s first winter and his mother tells him he must sleep until spring, “but when will it be spring?” Alfie wonders. Mother bear tells Alfie it will be spring when the flowers are out, when the sun shines and when the birds perch on the trees. And as Alfie curls up for the long winter, he feels sure he will know exactly when spring has arrived.
This is a delightful story about the changing seasons and a great to be used in the classroom with EYFS and year 1 children. There is a lot of potential and discussions points to this book, for example; the book can extend the children’s knowledge of the four season; spring, summer, autumn and winter, the book can also be used to discuss the fact that Alfie the bear needs to sleep through winter (i.e. hibernate) until spring, children can therefore be taught about animals hibernating, when they hibernate and why?
I think this is a lively and colorful collection of picture books and can stimulate and entertain teachers, parents and children.

[Bristol Daley · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Picture Book)
The illustrations were beautifully draw to show the difference of the seasons, when a bear hibernates and when they wake up in Spring. Really enjoyed reading this book and would be great for 2nd-4th graders.

[Tatiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I read this to the first graders, they had fun predicting and confirming their predictions (triumphantly) about Alfie the bear cub's misconceptions about signs of spring. A good seasonal story.

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't normally even pick up books like this, because their hallmark card cutesiness would scald my fingerprints right off, but one of my coworkers liked it enough to show it to me, so I gave it a shot. Pretty good!

Basically the baby bear is so eager for spring he gets a little delulu in seeing signs of spring, which leads to him constantly disrupting his mom's hibernation. By the time spring actually comes, his mom emerges from her cave only to find the little fella sleeping in the grass.

Cue the curb your enthusiasm music at the end.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my students brought this in and I read it to the class during circle time. . . it was a great book! It talked about hibernation, which we’re learning about, plus the kids thought Alfie the bear was very relatable given how he always gets out of bed when he should be sleeping. They thought the bat was hilarious and when I asked them what happened in the book they just said there was a fire and they should probably call the firefighters (there was a bonfire on one of the pages. . . kids take the best stuff out of books).

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the text a bit dull, but the illustrations really lovely.

My six-year-old son found the story funny, and the illustrations really cute.

So I'm rating this book for my son -- Four stars.

[Gabi Bunten · Rating 5 out of 5]

The plot of the story is that a young bear named Alfie goes into hibernation with his mother. Alfie has troubles going to sleep and repetitively wakes his mother and says it is spring. Throughout the story Alfie's mother wakes up and tells him that it is not spring yet. The characters in the story include a curious bear cub named Alfie. He is an active bear that likes to be actively doing something which is why it is difficult for him to hibernate. The other character included in the children's book is mother bear. She is protective over Alfie and makes sure that he is safe while going away for the winter to hibernate. The text and illustrations of the book are symmetrical because the words and pictures align with one another. The text includes dialogue between Alfie and his mother through the entire story. I like this book because it is adorable and teaches children about hibernation. In addition, this book could be used in a science lesson on animal habitats. Students are able to learn what hibernation looks like and be intrigued by the animated story.

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely story about hibernation and the changing of seasons. Baby bear is hibernating for the first time and doesn't know how he will know when spring has arrived. He keeps waking up Mummy Bear to tell her spring is here. A great book to help children understand seasonal changes and hibernation. I would read this book to FS and KS1 children, year 3 children could also benefit from the story.

[James]

Wonderfully illustrated, highlighting the differences in the seasons, Alfie’s search for when spring will come mirrors the inquisitiveness about the world around them so common to preschool children. Plenty of extra material to discuss as well about animals, their habits and habitats, the changing seasons etc.

[Erfan · Rating 3 out of 5]

خرس کوچولو برای رسیدن بهار توی زمستون عجله داشت، خیلی زیاد من هم همینطور. خیلی عجله دارم که این روزهای سخت تموم بشه و بهار بیاد. ما با اسم بهار بزرگ شدیم اما هربار فکر کردیم بهار اومده مامان تو گوش‌مون گفت بخواب، هنوز وقتش نرسیده.

[Emily Kinsman · Rating 5 out of 5]

12/1
Fiction Pre
K-1st
This cute story about an eager little bear was super adorable. I can relate to being impatient just like him! The beautiful pictures were so capturing! Loved the whole thing.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

An adorable book with gorgeous illustrations!

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

The bears are hibernating. Baby bear keeps waking up and thinking it's spring. Mama keeps bringing him back to sleep. Sweet.

[Melanie Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too cute

[Jessica Ney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute book about a cub waiting impatiently for Spring to arrive.

[Breanna Maughan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this story is cute but what I loved more are the illustrations.

[Danny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was about a year about to go away but a bear was waiting for spring time to thanks again too for thanks to for thank you.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully illustrated children's book!

[Meakuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dieses Bilderbuch ist wirklich bezaubernd gezeichnet. Gerade auch die anderen Tiere. Aber auch die Mimik und Gestik der beiden Bären sind traumhaft.

[Emilie Ross]

first day of spring
being patient

[KaitandMaddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute little story about the signs of spring.

[Kyra Rickenbach · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is a great book to teach students about winter changing to spring.

[Negar · Rating 1 out of 5]

When will it be story?

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so cute. It was a story of a young bear hibernating and eagerly awaiting spring. He asks his mom what spring will be like and she tells him. He then wakes up during the other seasons and gets excited when he sees things his mother said. But each time it is not spring yet. One thing I really enjoyed about this book was the illustrations. They contained a lot of detail and I especially liked the expressions of the cub. The placement of the words was put in a different place each time making the style of the book appealing. I think children could relate to this book because they are excited and waiting for something. The words were fairly simple but there was a lot of different vocabulary. I think this would be a great book to use when talking about the season in the classroom because it shows glimpses of each of them. It would also be a great book to simply have in my classroom library for children to come across and enjoy on their own.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

2019 Update: I clearly enjoyed reading this book when I was little (see below). I still think the story is cute even as an adult. The little bear cub keeps pestering his mom when she is trying to hibernate during winter. I can relate to the mother bear now and see how I would get very frustrated if my kids kept waking me up during a nap!

Original Review: This book has without a doubt some of the most beautiful illustrations of all! Very good story as well! It's a win win!

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an adorable book that spans both winter and spring. Alfie is too excited and curious about spring that it effects his hibernation. Kids will enjoy the "reveal" of items that he thinks are signs of spring.

[Satin · Rating 3 out of 5]

-great book
- good to use when teaching students about the things that happen in spring
- As I read the story I had a feeling that when spring did arrive Alfie wouldn't be awake to see it because he had been awake most of the winter

[Blanca R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book give clues about spring because some signal for a bear to see when the spring started is when they see butterflies and sunny days.
LE: Each child can draw a butterfly for the bulletin board or hang it around the classroom.

[Tia Simmons · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is about a little bear learning to be patient and can easily be related to students and the times they need to be patient. It can also be used to facilitate a discussion around the change of seasons and/or hibernation.