No Bears

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Ella wants to tell you a story - a story with absolutely no bears. You don't need bears for a book. You need pretty things like fairies and princesses and castles and maybe funny things and exciting things. In Ella's kind of story, there are no bears in the village or the castle or the deep dark forest or faraway lands. But there might be ... a monster

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

A humble bear is the unsung hero of this story-within-a-story told by Ella. "Every time you read a book," Ella complains, "it's just bears bears bears-horrible furry bears slurping honey in awful little caves." In the bear-free story Ella invents, which unspools within small color spreads that leave plenty of room for action in the white space of the margins, a princess is stolen away by a monster. Ella says the princess is saved by her fairy godmother, but readers see that it's really the friendly bear, lurking in the periphery, who borrows the fairy godmother's wand and defeats the monster. Rudge's artwork looks something like Oliver Jeffers's; her illustrations, Ella's bossy-pants narration, and the many cameos by favorite fairy tale characters all contribute to the success of this primer in irony. Ella's final claim that her story was good "because there were no bears in it. Not one!" is countered by the characters (Red Riding Hood, a wolf) pointing mutely to the bear; a coda that gives the bear its due adds to the charm of the whole. Ages 4-8. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

School Library Journal Review

PreS-K-Ella, the narrator of this lively picture book, asserts that stories should have "fairies and princesses and castles," but definitely not bears as she is tired of them. She proceeds to tell a tale completely devoid of bears-except for the scene stealer that keeps popping up in the margins to help, hinder, and, ultimately, save the day. The text plays off Rudge's winsome illustrations to great effect, with literary references to everything from "The Gingerbread Man" to "The Owl and the Pussycat." The expressive pictures, dancing across the spreads in a palette of yellows, greens, and browns, are so detailed and artistic that one would never know they were created digitally. The bears/no bears joke upon which the story rests may be a thin one, but children will be delighted to be in the know, especially when they find the familiar characters hidden in the illustrations.-Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

A little girl named Ella regales children with what she believes a good story should and shouldn't include: royalty, humor, a few well-placed frights, but absolutely no bears. As her make-believe effort unfolds, those paying attention to the illustrations will see that things aren't going as Ella would have us hear. Indeed, there is a bear: a large and kindly one who adds water so the owl and the pussycat can set sail, literally pulls the strings on the monster's boots, and even ends up rescuing the fairy godmother. Ella, of course, refuses to acknowledge the bear's presence en route to her story's happily ever after. Ella is a delightful and creative mirror for any imaginative child, and the bear is that good parent who doesn't require recognition, even as she plays an important role in the visual story. Rudge's busily patterned watercolor pages, comic proportions, and clever details the billiard-ball-round king's head; Ella's own instructions for making a paper crown; the post-rescue party, featuring pigs in tutus and gingerbread men invite much exploration.--Goldsmith, Francisca Copyright 2010 Booklist

Horn Book Review

Ella proclaims that she is in charge of this book, and this book will have no bears, not a one: "Every time you read a book, its just BEARS BEARS BEARS." She decrees that her book will have a monster and a princess and a fairy godmother instead, makes herself a crown, and begins her bear-free tale. Readers, however, can see perfectly well in the delicate and droll illustrations that there is a bear in the book theyre reading, one wearing a green print dress with a nice bee pattern. Ellas fairy godmother endeavors to keep the bear out of the story, but when she puts down her magic wand for a moment, the bear picks it up and eventually uses it to rescue the princess from the monster. This is a picture book that will send the reader delightedly back again and again to sort out the layers of reality. In one illustration, for instance, Ella is reaching into the book to add a castle while her fairy godmother is painting a no-bears-allowed sign on the page and the bear stands forlornly across the book, holding a picture of itself holding a jar of honey. Both the story and the inventive digital pictures draw readers in deeper and deeper, along with the many fairy-tale details to discover (clever viewers will spot all the usual suspects, from Little Red Riding Hood to Rapunzel to the Three Little Pigs). susan dove lempke (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Book Review

Three Pigs (2001) and other metafictive romps will be properly amused. (Picture book. 6-8)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.