Jack the Bear

by Christina Leist

In Nosy Fox’s eyes, Jack the Bear seems to be doing nothing, just sitting under a tree and eating his honey with Grumpy Squirrel. But Brainy Owl says that Jack the Bear is making the world a better place. How can that be? This charming picture book, which features illustrations painted on recycled shopping bags, is both entertaining and educational, showing how the simple act of sharing can be as great a deed as the benevolent acts of kings, leaders, scientists, and philosophers.

Genres: Picture Books

40 pages, Hardcover

First published September 29, 2009

Reviews

[Kathleen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I like well written stories. I like stories with a lesson woven in there. I do not like stories that tell a message in such a boring, overt, over the head, preaching way, that it's painful for an adult to read. So yeah....no thanks.

[Aneesa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pictures painted on grocery bags

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

The illustrations are layered and puckish in this fable about a Nosy Fox who questions Brainy Owl about what use Jack the Bear is in the world. Nosy Fox can't understand Jack's contribution towards "making the world a better place." Some of the concepts, vocabulary and symbolism are geared more for older children (this was a book well over the heads of my kindergartens), yet the story itself is less satisfying for older children. This is a message that is imparted in story format, rather than a story with a message.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated. Story of how to make the world a better place. Mention of different careers (such as philosophers) might be over young children's heads.

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the idea of this book, but the language was way over the heads of the average preschooler.