The Very Cranky Bear and a Freebie

I love bears almost as much as I love dogs and wolves. I think they're very similar in lots of ways, too. So my choice for Susanna's Perfect Picture Book Friday is The Very Cranky Bear by Nick Bland.

 

Publisher: Scholastic, 2008

Audience: 3 and up

Genre: Juvenile Fiction

Topic: Bears, Hibernation, Humour

Opening Lines: In the Jingle Jangle Jungle on a cold and rainy day, four little friends found a perfect place to play. Moose had marvelous antlers and Lion, a golden maine. Zebra had fantastic stripes and Sheep . . . well, Sheep was plain.

Summary (from Amazon): When four friends encounter a cranky bear, they decide they must cheer him up. Moose, Lion and Zebra's outrageous ideas all backfire, which leaves it up to poor, plain Sheep to deal with this beast, who just wants a quiet place to sleep. Whatever will she do? This rhyming story with hilarious illustrations is guaranteed to entertain its readers and its listeners!

Why I Like This Book: I love the beautiful brightly coloured illustrations and the bouncy rhythm and rhymes. This book appeals to a young child's sense of humour with it's wacky card-playing animals and their silly plan to cheer up Cranky Bear.

Resources:

1. He's back!!! But this time the Cranky Bear is itchy. I haven't read this one yet, but I'm sure it's just as good as its prequel.

2.  The star of the book agrees to an interview :)  Bob Monster, from the Monster Report, chats with Cranky Bear on YouTube (click the image).

3. Here's a very cool app for your iPad or iPhone (click the image).

4. There's lots of good info and photos of  brown bears at eHow.

5. I have some brown bear art projects on this page and here, too.

6. And finally, here's a little freebie for you.

Have a great weekend!