What a Scare, Jesse Bear

Jesse Bear

by Nancy White Carlstrom, Bruce Degen (Illustrator)

Jesse Bear has a wonderful time getting ready for Halloween. He loves carving pumpkins and trying on costumes. But when it comes time for trick-or-treating, Jesse gets scared. With his parents by his side, Jesse soon builds up the courage to put on his scary mask -- and even plays a trick of his own!

Genres: Halloween, Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Holiday, Storytime

32 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1999

About the author

Nancy White Carlstrom has written more than 50 books for children, including the Jesse Bear series with illustrator Bruce Degan.

Born the daughter of steel mill worker William J. and Eva (Lawrence) White, Nancy White Carlstrom was born in Washington, Pennsylvania, on August 4, 1948. She practiced writing poetry, enjoyed reading books like Little Women, and wanted to become a children’s book author at an early age. Carlstrom worked in the children’s department of her local library in Washington during her high school years. She graduated from Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, majoring in Elementary Education and earning her B.A. in 1970, also studying at Harvard Extension School and Radcliffe from 1974 to 1976. In September of 1974, she married David R. Carlstrom, later a pilot and a marketing director at Fairbanks International Airport. They had two children—Jesse and Joshua.

She draws inspiration from her 18 years living in Alaska, volunteer experiences in Africa and Haiti, and raising her two sons.

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another getting ready for Halloween book that presents lots of costume options. I think it is so important to build up a library of holiday books for young children that they can return to over the years - a library that one day they might share with their children and talk about how they remember reading the book with their mom or dad. This is a Halloween book I would put on that list!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

We love the Jesse Bear books. This was perfect for October!

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, which tells of Jesse Bear's Halloween experiences, returns to the original format established by the earliest books in the Jesse Bear series. Each page once again features a border and the text stands apart from the illustration, situated above or below it, or in a box within the illustration itself. I absolutely love all the Fall colors Degen uses to portray the cool, crisp October weather, and his use of light and dark when it comes to carving and lighting a jack-o-lantern really made that segment of the book stand out. In fact, light becomes a significant element of each illustration as Jesse Bear goes out into the night to trick-or-treat and the street is lit up by a full moon.

In terms of the story itself, I love the way Carlstrom creates a safe space for kids to experience a fun taste of fear without becoming terrified. Jesse Bear is scared several times throughout this book - by his mother, by his own mask in a mirror, and by some fellow trick-or-treaters, but it's all in good fun, and everyone in the story smiles and enjoys themselves when it happens. By the end of the book, Jesse Bear, who was somewhat intimidated by his costume at the start, finally finds the courage to face his mask, and might even have the nerve to scare someone else.

The rhymes weren't as notable in this book for some reason, but I did enjoy the description of the family trying on costumes:

Let's work on the costume,
Lots of scraps and bits.
Dress-up clothes from long ago,
I hope that something fits.

Papa puts a black cape on
And some vampire teeth.
Mama wears a velvet coat
And tutu underneath.

I used to love gentle Halloween stories just like this when I was a kid, and I know this book would appeal to a lot of preschool kids going trick-or-treating for the first time who want to know what to expect. Definitely look for it next month to celebrate Halloween!

[Rosa Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jesse Bear is getting ready for Halloween and trick or treating. He finds a costume in his (grand)parents chest of clothes. He scares himself in the mirror (which may scare really small listeners)This book doesn't have as much rhyme as "What Will you Wear Jesse Bear" but does still have nice and some lines that rhyme. The story is a nice one. Just be aware that really young listeners maybe a little scared with this book but if you reassure them and finish the story they'll see and understand it's not scary.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book includes rhyming words sentence by sentence along with the halloween evente; picking pumpkins, trying on costumes, and getting ready for trick or treating. Students can predict and retell the story after the reading. Also, it teaches sequencing that teachers can lead students to make a picture book about what they would do on the Halloween day.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of our favorites! Perfect for this time of year

[Jaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our entire family loves all the Jesse Bear Books! There a must & get read at least once for bedtime every week!

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

rhyming text, repetitive phrases; charming illustrations

themes: costumes, Halloween, pumpkins, trick-or-treat

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book for Halloween

[Vi Le · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is great for the Halloween spirit. Not only that, this is a great way to teach children about rhymes. Throughout this story we follow Jesse bear, who is getting ready for Halloween and we see that in the beginning of the story we see him and his family get ready for Halloween and trying on different costumes. However, when Jesse bears tries on this scary mask, he get scared. However after going out for Halloween he gets confident about his costume. He starts to go scare his family with his mask by sneaking in from the back. Jesse bear is a great book to help children understand that it is okay to be scared and not confident in yourself and that it takes a bit of time to become confident in yourself.

This book has many correlations to some of the readings we did in class. From the nursery rhymes, to Nonsense by Mayhem and Shortsleeve, to Nonsense Poetry by Edward Lear. This book has a rhyme scheme of abab, and the story has characterization of its characters being bears. I believe there was a use of onomatopoeia because Jesse says boo to scare his family.

[Stephanie Bange · Rating 3 out of 5]

Time to visit an "oldie but goodie" from the past to see if it stands the test of time...

Jesse Bear is one of my favorite storybook characters, and I have high expectations for his adventures. However, this one just doesn't meet up with the rest. The text is a bit bumpy to read aloud in places, sometimes with a beat that forces the reader to make the em-fa-sis on irregular sil-ah-bulls. Degen's pen-and-ink and watercolor artwork is the redeeming gift here. Each are filled with visual jubilation at the arrival of and activity during Halloween. It is a worthwhile story to for fans of our intrepid hero, Jesse Bear!

For PreSchool-grade 1.

[Amy Ingalls · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations are charming, the story just OK.

[Nicole Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

The rhyming verse and illustrations tell the story of a bear who is afraid of his own Halloween costume.

Super cute book with very detailed illustrations.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a cute scary Halloween book, Who gets he most scared???

[Annie S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fine story about Jessie Bear getting scared and then scaring some on Halloween night.

[Peggy Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Certainly not as good as What Will You Wear, Jesse Bear but for children familiar with Jesse and his family it will probably be enjoyable. My three-year-old liked it and now that he's four he still does. It's a decent Halloween book. Jesse enjoys dressing up but ends up scaring himself and is afraid to wear his costume until he finally comes to some friends' house. A familiar scenario for many kids.

[Sarah Kasper · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would be a great book to use for lessons on rhyme and repetition. Throughout the story, there is a repeating line, "What a Scare, Jesse Bear!" Also, the whole story is written in stanzas that rhyme. If I were sharing this book to my class just for fun, I would share this story during Halloween since the story takes place during that time of the year.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Halloween is full of fun and frights and creative costumes in this book in the Jesse Bear series. Our girls enjoyed this tale, even though it's nowhere near time for Halloween. We've read this one a couple of times.

[The Reading Countess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Youngest self-selected this one from the school library. After realizing that he could read "booooooo" and "What a scare, Jesse Bear" (the repetitive lines in the book), he looked for them throughout.
Great fun!

[Renae Williams]

This is a good book to read to children around Halloween or in the fall due to the pumpkins and Halloween costumes. There are other books in this series, and they are very enjoyable for children to read. I think it is so funny that Jesse ends up scaring himself in his own Halloween costume.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute rhyming book.

[Bridget · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wordy with not much of a point.

[Jennybug · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rhyming book!

[Cristina]

I like the Jesse bear books and so does my two-year old. They are fun to read to read out loud. My favorite is still the Christmas one though.

[Sandybear76]

I love Jesse Bear. Nice rhyming story. Great pictures. I read this one to second graders. It had a bit of scare in it but not spooky.

[Rena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book just in time for Halloween!

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I adore reading Jesse Bear books aloud. The rhymes and sing-song make it a delight!

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great Halloween book for little ones. Perfect for little ones.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

As Halloween approaches, Jess Bear and his family make preparations for the upcoming festivities. Jess Bear is somewhat hesitant when it comes to the scary portion, but he joins in the act.