Roawr!

by Barbara M. Joosse, Jan Jutte (Illustrator)

Little Liam is snuggled in his toasty bed when his slumber is broken by a crack! snap! ROAWR! outside in the woods. Papa is away, and Mama is sleeping soundly. And as everyone knows, Mama is delicious to forest things. It’s up to Liam to protect her, but what can he possibly do against the forest’s wild and dangerous creatures? He’s just a little boy, after all. Barbara Joosse, author of Please Is a Good Word to Say , teams up with Jan Jutte, one of the Netherlands’ preeminent picture-book artists, to create this highly original picture book that shows that what it really takes to defeat ferocious bears is—a big imagination!

Listen to Barbara Joosse read ROAWR! here.

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Childrens, Adventure, Animals, Juvenile

40 pages, Hardcover

First published April 16, 2009

About the author

[Author also goes by the name Barbara Joosse.]

Barbara M. Joosse has written many books for children. Among them are Mama, Do You Love Me?, illustrated by Barbara Lavallee; and I Love You the Purplest, illustrated by Mary Whyte. She says, "When I was a little girl, I wished for two things — a best friend, and something so ferocious it would scare away the monsters under my bed. And so I have written Lovabye Dragon. I think maybe it’s for little me." Barbara Josse lives in Wisconsin.

Reviews

[Bethany]

For fans of Where the Wild Things Are, Barbara Joosse's delightfully imaginative text presents a brave little boy who embarks on a quest to protect his apparently delicious mother from a hungry bear. The text is excellent for reading aloud, with quirky uses of language and the title's onomatopoeia scattered throughout.

The illustrations offer sneaky rewards for the observant reader, such as the teddy bear with an eyepatch (suspiciously like the bear captured in the woods), and a seamless blend of reality and imagination.

[April]

A superb adventure/imagination story reminiscent of Where the Wild Things Are. This will be especially appealing to boys! The illustrations compliment the story perfectly making the entire book strong. I especially enjoyed the playfulness with language... lots of wonderful onomatopoeia ("ROAWR", "thump thump", "tick-tock") and creative word choices ("double-cake" -Mmmm whatever that is I want some!, "snore asleep", "snarly night", "clacked his teeth")!

[Sarah W]

Starting a story with 'a dark and stormy night' has been discussed many times in many mediums. Roawr uses a dark and snarly night. Young Liam tries to think of a way to protect himself though he's small - with a fort, string and double-cake. Mama won't let him use those things inside.

When Liam heads to bed, he starts to dream of a night in the woods. I love seeing the woods take over this boy's house. Convinced a hungry bear is after his mom, Liam creates an ingenious bear trap. With the bear trapped, Liam has a new problem--feeding it enough to placate it.

A pair for this book might be Where the Wild Things Are. Students could design a bear trap using supplies found in their room or library.

[Beth]

Roawr! at our house means "I love you!" This is a smartly written picture book - great lines, including my favorites... "Oh no! Mama was delicious to forest things, and he was just a boy (thump thump)." and the very descriptive ""Bear! He rumbled in the hole, slashed moonlight bloody with his claws and bellowed... ROAWR!"

[Laura]

Love the parenthetical (thump thump) and the intermittent rhyme scheme. Lovely illustrations and quite fun to read. Is the bear imaginary or real? Irrelevant to the young reader who's there protecting his mother and freeing the bear.

[None]

it rocks! i love the drawings and the story has that certain sound. . . don't know what it is but it makes it magic!

[Sam Bloom]

This is such a weird book, but fun. The illustrations are excellent; they fit the bizarre text to a tee.

[Rose Rosetree]

What will it take little Liam to defeat a ferocious bear? When Barbara Joosse is telling the tale, I'm listening. She's one of my favorite authors of picture books.

'Tis a tale of suspense, yet you just know that the irrepressible and ingenious young hero is going to do alright. Even if sometimes he doesn't know that. For example:

Bear clacked his tteth,
raised his snout and sniffed for sleeping Mama.

What could Liam do? He was just a boy (thump thump).
He thought for just a little bit and suddenly he knew:

Such a wonderful adventure, a FIVE STAR tale of courage rewarded!

[Lynda]

Interesting and imaginative. I didn’t think much of it the first time we read it, but my 4 yo’s interest and joy in the little details led us to read it 17 times in a two week period and I grew to appreciate it.

[Maureen]

This is one of my favorite children’s books. The rhythm and syntax are different from typical picture books - and good for little brains to experience. If you love William Steig, you’ll love Barbara Joosse.

[The Campbell Family]

Bud sat to listen to the whole thing, but overall we were underwhelmed.

[eveltrain]

Fun read aloud that demands the audience roars.

Illustrations add to the fun.

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams]

I love how this little boy solves the problems he needs to solve to keep his mom safe. I think we can all learn a lesson here - when people are angry or scary - if we can think of what we can do to meet their needs they may become as cuddly as this bear does.

**Talking points - How many scary and even mean people could we make friends with if we treated them with kindness and gave them what they needed to be happy? Is it harder to give grumpy what they need to be happy than to give cheerful people what they want? Why? Next time you are asking for something how do you think you should act?

[Peacegal]

A fairy-tale like story of a boy who captures and feeds a bear to prevent the animal from gobbling up his family.

Veg*n parents note: The boy catches a fish to feed the bear. At the end of the story, however, the boy realizes the satiated bear is no longer a threat and devises a way to release him from the pit he's captured in.

[Jules]

This book had so much potential to be a really fun book but, unfortunately, I stumbled over the words too much. I have a tendency to start to read with a rhythm once words start rhyming and the inconsistent rhymes throughout the book just gave me a bit of trouble. Still a nice book to read with your little ones.

[Molly]

A fun story about a brave boy who is protecting his mother while she sleeps from a bear. I loved the illustrations but you need to know the kid you suggest this to. This could be a pretty scary story for a kid who has nightmares or thinks something may be in their closet. Ages 4+

[Edna]

Right at bedtime, with his mother snoring loudly, Liam, who is just a boy (thump, thump) knows there are forest things that would like to eat his mother, so he courageously thinks of a way to keep his mother safe.

[Christine Ridout]

One dark and snarly night, a little boy hears cracks and snaps in the forest. Danger! He feared for his mama, afraid a monster would get her. What should he do. He comes up with all kinds of things so his home is safe again. Great story.

[Kristin]

This book wasn't a personal favorite of mine because, to me, it was a little harder to follow for a child. But it was very engaging and relates to children about their imagination and such. Since it could encourage students to want to read because of its content, I would consider it a good read.

[Martha]

This book had potential but it was confusing and just didn't flow.

[Karen C]

I like how the bear has an eyepatch. The language is rich. The plot meanders a bit. The illustrations are lively.

[Sarah]

A cute tale of a creative boy whose night-time fears are calmed through his problem solving skills, as he attempts to protect his mother from a scary bear.

[Agnes]

The illustrations are fabulous but the story loses its pace and rhythm one too many times. The repeated phrases like "ROAWR" and "thump thump" could be used in the story in a more appealing way.

[Erica]

A bit reminiscent of Where the Wild Things Are.

[Tina B]

"bedtime, bears, teddy bears, imagination, pretend"

[Melanie Boss]

Very confusing story, but entertaining sounds. Boy makes believe he feeds a bear.

[Karen]

Just ok, uses some onomatopoeia.

[Rita]

Ellen (3) and Addison (2) liked it.

[Cecilia Rose]

Extra fun if you have your kiddo roar.

[Renae Phillips]

A little boy hears a bear outside his bedroom window, and, even though he has been told to go to bed, ventures out to trap it before it can eat his mom. This is a cute book about the power of imagination. It would be a great read for any little adventure seekers in a class.

6+1 Traits:
Idea
Sentence Fluency
Word Choice

Lexile: 380L
Accelerated Reading: 3