One Very Big Bear

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

As far as he can tell, Bear is the biggest thing around. He might even be a giant! It's not long before other, smaller animals set him straight in this charmingly illustrated book about counting and relative size. Together, two walruses, three foxes, and so on, are the same size as Bear, each teasing him for foolishly thinking that there is nothing bigger than he. When six sardines arrive to tell Bear that together, they are just as big as he is, Bear has had enough and gobbles them up for breakfast.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Originally published in France, this math-minded picture book introduces a hulking polar bear who is impressed by his own size. "I'm very big!" he proclaims. "I'm almost a giant!" The other polar animals nearby dismiss his size: "You're not that big," suggest two walruses who swim up to his ice floe. "Look at this: one + one. We two are just as big as you!" The addition theme continues as three foxes, four sea lions, five penguins, and six sardines hop on each other's backs to show Bear that they are just as large as he is. In minimalist illustrations that resemble screenprints, Philipponneau and Enjary create rich contrasts by using a color scheme of vivid mint green, black, and white. The closing scene-in which Bear remembers that his mouth is pretty big, too-will leave readers giggling. Ages 3-5. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

School Library Journal Review

PreS-Gr 1-A polar bear stands on a chunk of ice and boasts of his size. When the other animals hear, they stand on one another's heads to show him that he's not that tall. The walruses teeter beside him and say, "We TWO are just as big as you!" As the tower of animals grows in size, so do the opportunities for counting and addition. The ending is something of a shock, but being that the main character is a wild polar bear, the last creatures who question his height (six sardines) make a perfect breakfast. The black-and-white illustrations are striking against the green sky. The column of animals on the right-hand page match the column of addition in the text on the left-hand page. VERDICT A picture book for children who like a bit of a surprise when they are learning their numbers.-Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, Alta., Canada © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

In this simple, well-designed counting book, a polar bear declares that he is very big (I'm almost a giant!), and other mostly cold-climate creatures set out to prove otherwise. Two walruses, one on top of the other, show that they are just as big as the very big bear, as do three foxes, four sea lions, and five penguins. The final group is made up of sardines, and the polar bear, in a surprise ending, decides that six sardines are the perfect size for his breakfast. White pages with a few lines of text alternate with pages filled with unadorned three-color illustrations in a silkscreen or linoleum-block style. The white bear is rendered in sharp contrast to the other creatures, done mostly in black with touches of white and teal. All stand out against the spare teal background. An enjoyable read for younger readers content to stop counting at six and who won't question the coexistence of penguins and polar bears or the relative size of the different creatures.--Enos, Randall Copyright 2016 Booklist

Horn Book Review

The eponymous ONE polar bear laments his big size only to have a succession of animals stand atop one another to show that they can be just as big. This French counting book ends with a dark twist (involving SIX sardines) that promises to deliver one very big laugh. The spare, striking illustrations use a limited palette of white, black, and aquamarine. (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Book Review

A counting book finds ONE white bear facing off against an increasing number of different creatures in a contest of size. With so many creative and interesting counting books available, a new endeavor in this genrenbsp;must work hard to stand out from the crowd. This French import seems to run out of steam before it has barely begun. The illustrations are flat, two-color monoprints with stylized, hard-to-distinguish animal shapes. A large white bear stands glumly on an ice floe. Im very big! he announces. Im almost a giant! Two walruses swim up, challenging his size by standing one atop the other. This joke is repeated with three foxes (unlikely residents of an ice floe!), four sea lions, five penguins (even more unlikely, assuming the ice floe is in the Arctic), and six sardines, the last of which unsurprisingly are consumed by the bear on the last page. The goal is apparently to teach very simple addition: each vertical pile of animals is notated as an arithmetical equation, such as ONE + ONE + ONE, but the exercise abruptly concludes at six, not even bothering to get to 10. Numerical notation is not used, and this half-hearted, didactic attempt risks confusion rather than enlightenment. Lacking bounce and any real originality, this big bear falls flat on the ice. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.