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Bear Needs Help
With one of his shoes untied, and all of the animals too scared to help, what's Bear going to do? The surprisingly clever answer will make kids -- and parents -- laugh. A perfect read-aloud.
A lumbering little polar bear has one shoe untied, and he needs some help! Sadly for him, though, the other animals are all too scared of him: the lemmings, rabbits, and seals all run away as he approaches them for assistance. What's Bear going to do? Luckily, two plucky birds are more than happy to help out and offer advice -- though probably not quite in the way that readers anticipate.
In this sweet and funny book about asking for help (and receiving it), expectations are flipped in a simple but clever way.
Praise for Bear Needs Help
A Junior Library Guild selection!
"Laced with humor and . . . decipherable in more ways than one." --Kirkus Reviews
"The silliness will likely win the day and earn a few giggles . . . Use this to bring some surprising goofiness to a bear-themed or winter-themed storytime." --BCCB
A lumbering little polar bear has one shoe untied, and he needs some help! Sadly for him, though, the other animals are all too scared of him: the lemmings, rabbits, and seals all run away as he approaches them for assistance. What's Bear going to do? Luckily, two plucky birds are more than happy to help out and offer advice -- though probably not quite in the way that readers anticipate.
In this sweet and funny book about asking for help (and receiving it), expectations are flipped in a simple but clever way.
Praise for Bear Needs Help
A Junior Library Guild selection!
"Laced with humor and . . . decipherable in more ways than one." --Kirkus Reviews
"The silliness will likely win the day and earn a few giggles . . . Use this to bring some surprising goofiness to a bear-themed or winter-themed storytime." --BCCB
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 22, 2019
1 person is currently reading
62 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
January 26, 2019
Bear is wearing sneakers for some unknown reason. Three are tied and one is untied.
He tries asking various animals for help, but they are all too afraid of him to help him.
Finally some birds wander over and ask,
"Shoelaces again?"
Bear blushes. Instead of helping him tie his last shoe, which is what the kids and I thought was going to happen, they UNTIE all his shoes!
He takes them off and thanks them.
Then he dives into the water.
The birds wander away, and the one says to the other,
"He really needs to learn to do that himself."
The book ends with another bear (brown) showing up and gazing down at Bear in the water, saying "Excuse me..." and we can see it is wearing yellow sneakers.
THE END.
TL;DR Cute book. Kind of pointless.
He tries asking various animals for help, but they are all too afraid of him to help him.
Finally some birds wander over and ask,
"Shoelaces again?"
Bear blushes. Instead of helping him tie his last shoe, which is what the kids and I thought was going to happen, they UNTIE all his shoes!
He takes them off and thanks them.
Then he dives into the water.
The birds wander away, and the one says to the other,
"He really needs to learn to do that himself."
The book ends with another bear (brown) showing up and gazing down at Bear in the water, saying "Excuse me..." and we can see it is wearing yellow sneakers.
THE END.
TL;DR Cute book. Kind of pointless.
March 27, 2019
10/10, y'all! This one is a conversation piece. This bear needs help taking off their shoes. How did the shoes get on? Probably some birds helped them, but it's unclear. That being said, and honestly the better question is, who the heckie is gonna help them take these red sneaks off?! The ending will SHOCK you.
January 18, 2019
A story about lending a hand to those who need it, with an unexpected ending that is sure to make readers smile. Bear is adorably expressive, and readers will root for him in his search for help with those tricky shoe laces.
July 9, 2019
Bear’s shoelace is untied. He approaches several groups of animals to get help, but they all run away.
September 28, 2019
So cute! Simple, limited text. Adorable illustrations. Surprise ending. My kinders will love this!
May 14, 2019
Delightful with a fun twist, bold illustrations really add to the fun.
July 19, 2021
This super simple, nearly wordless book was a HUGE hit with my kindergartners. YAY!
April 3, 2019
Bear Needs Help by Sarah S. Brannen. PICTURE BOOK. Philomel Books (Penguin Young Readers), 2019. $17. 9780525516507
BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
With sparse text, we follow along as a polar bear with shoes on tries to ask for help. Seals and hares turn away, but two doves come to the rescue. Only “the rescuse” isn’t exactly what you were thinking.
This simple and quick tale is cute and funny. It plays with the common struggle of young readers to learn to tie their shoes, but flips it on its head. This book won’t stick with me for long, but I enjoyed it while I read it.
Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...
BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
With sparse text, we follow along as a polar bear with shoes on tries to ask for help. Seals and hares turn away, but two doves come to the rescue. Only “the rescuse” isn’t exactly what you were thinking.
This simple and quick tale is cute and funny. It plays with the common struggle of young readers to learn to tie their shoes, but flips it on its head. This book won’t stick with me for long, but I enjoyed it while I read it.
Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...
December 9, 2019
My inner child enjoys how this big, adorable polar bear needs help tying his shoes and finally ends up taking them all off to go swimming. My adult side wonders why he can't untie them all himself and just go barefoot from the beginning, why do the birds untie his shoes, rather than tie them? How is he going to put them back on? Then the inner child laughs when another bear shows up with the same problem. The adult side understands why all the other characters run away from the bear-usually he would be eating them, they aren't going to want to help tie is shoes.
But the pictures are really cute, and the bear's expressions are so sympathetic, your heart goes out to him. And who doesn't love that feeling to being released form your shoes to go play?
But the pictures are really cute, and the bear's expressions are so sympathetic, your heart goes out to him. And who doesn't love that feeling to being released form your shoes to go play?
November 29, 2020
This book is part of the children's picture book genre and is intended for children ages 3-7. This book is about a polar bear who is looking for help from his friends in order to get his shoes tied. This book has full page illustrations which is helpful for the younger children to grasp the concept of what is going on if they are looking at the book alone. Although there were a lot of pictures, I wasn't fond of how separated the sentences were through the book. It took multiple pages for one sentence to be complete. An activity that could go with this book is the children relate to when they helped someone with something or when they needed help.
March 21, 2019
Young readers will definitely be able to relate to the frustration of tying and untying shoes, especially when finding help is nearly impossible. Bear has an untied shoe, and he needs help. Obviously all of the animals that are prey for the Bear run away when he approaches. The book has a cute twist at the end. This could be a great way to discuss conflict/resolution in writing. Young readers could discuss all of the possible ways that the Bear could solve his problem. It might even inspire young writers to share a time when they had to solve a problem like Bear's.
May 19, 2019
Polar bear is wearing red sneakers, and one shoe has the laces untied. He goes around asking for help, but all the other animals are afraid of him! Then two birds come over and agree to help him with his shoelaces, again. It turns out, bear actually wants help getting his shoes off so he can go swimming! Polar bear is floating happily on his back when someone else needs help with their shoes... A great big grizzly!
This book is very sparing on words, but the illustrations introduce a lot of animals that could be investigated after reading the story, as well as food chains and ecosystems and all that good stuff.
This book is very sparing on words, but the illustrations introduce a lot of animals that could be investigated after reading the story, as well as food chains and ecosystems and all that good stuff.
March 14, 2019
There is nothing outright wrong with this book. It's a sweet concept of needing help.
Bear's shoelaces are untied but no one will help him.
And that's pretty much the gist of the story. Which is my issue with it. It's so.....simple. Almost too simple. What I do like is that for an emerging reader it would be a great book choice due to the minimal words on each page.
Bear's shoelaces are untied but no one will help him.
And that's pretty much the gist of the story. Which is my issue with it. It's so.....simple. Almost too simple. What I do like is that for an emerging reader it would be a great book choice due to the minimal words on each page.
August 1, 2019
Meh.
Well of course those animals aren’t going to help the polar bear with his shoes (why is he wearing shoes?!?), they are his prey.
And the smug birds who help but then make a snide comment about how he “really needs to learn to do that himself.”
I do not get what the author is trying to convey with this book.
Well of course those animals aren’t going to help the polar bear with his shoes (why is he wearing shoes?!?), they are his prey.
And the smug birds who help but then make a snide comment about how he “really needs to learn to do that himself.”
I do not get what the author is trying to convey with this book.
April 30, 2020
"Bear Needs Help" is a silly, but heartwarming story. The poor polar bear just wants to take his shoes off so he can swim to his resting spot, but every animal is scared of him. When he would ask for help, the other animals would just run or swim away. The story teaches readers a lesson to never judge a book by its cover.
August 20, 2024
This is a short and simple book about a polar bear that needs help removing his shoes. Many animals are scared of him and run away, but finally the ptarmigan help him out. The book ends with a brown bear asking him for help with the same problem. It's an OK book, but to me a little unsatisfying since we know that the polar bear won't be able to help.
January 28, 2019
4.5 stars. A very simple little book about needing help and how good it feels to receive the help you need. Bear needs help from other animals, his red sneakers are untied. No one will help him. Finally some birds step in and help.
May 4, 2019
Simple but fun book featuring a polar bear who can't get his shoelaces undone. He spends majority of the book asking other animals if they could help him. Quirky ending to a terrific titles for storytimes and read alouds at home.
July 17, 2019
Definitely better for younger readers. There's little to actually read here. Oz got bored and I can't get past the fact that the polar bear is wearing sneakers. Why is the polar bear wearing sneakers? WHY
July 11, 2020
A story with a twist; definitely a cute and simple story that will probably surprise you. It's short enough to be a 2nd book in a story time. Possibly a social focus.
Cute and fun and simple.
Cute and fun and simple.
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October 4, 2021Bear needs help with his shoelaces, but most animals do not seem to want to help him.
The illustrations are very cute.
Good book for toddlers and preschoolers who like bears and who might be interested in shoelaces (even if a lot of kids’ shoes now have Velcro or are slip-on.)
The illustrations are very cute.
Good book for toddlers and preschoolers who like bears and who might be interested in shoelaces (even if a lot of kids’ shoes now have Velcro or are slip-on.)
January 24, 2019
I genuinely laughed out loud.
January 31, 2019
Bear needs help with his shoes, but everyone is afraid of him. Funny ending.
February 5, 2019
really cute
February 13, 2019
The story is quick, witty, and easy to follow, and the wonderful illustrations assist in telling the story.
February 19, 2019
This actually did make me laugh, although my 3 year old didn't get it - yet.
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February 21, 2019A bear with heartfelt frustrations, resolved in a sweetly cheeky ending.
March 6, 2019
So fun and funny about a bear who needs help with his shoe laces.
March 12, 2019
Love this sweet story with a funny twist!
March 13, 2019
Simple story but pretty cute.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews