Wonderfully simple and simply wonderful for sharing with children. Teachers will find this picture book a natural for curriculum units on leaves or hibernation, and children will enjoy seeing fall anew through the eyes of a big-hearted character more innocent than themselves. When he wakes up, it's spring-and there are. Eventually, he gets sleepy, and burrows into the fallen leaves for a long nap. Bear is surprised when the leaves start falling off the trees, but when he tries to reattach them, it doesn't work. Just as Stein uses white space effectively in the art, he uses 'white space' well in the spare, precise text, leaving some details for children to notice in the pictures alone, such as how the leaves have been stuck back on the trees by spearing them onto the living twigs. This simple, charming story of a young bear's first autumn is perfectly suited to board book format. Created with bamboo pen, the energetic, sensitive drawings are tinted with subtle shades of color. The narrative works seamlessly with the freewheeling, expressive artwork. In spring, he joyfully welcomes the tiny leaves unfolding on the trees. but it was not the same.' As he watches the leaves fall and blanket the ground, he grows sleepy, finds a cavelike hole, fills it with leaves, and burrows into it to sleep away the winter. A young bear observing his first autumn is captivated by the. 'He tried to catch them and put them back on. by David Ezra Stein & illustrated by David Ezra Stein RELEASE DATE: Aug. He wonders, 'Are you okay?' More leaves fall. He lives on a tiny island with a few trees, flowers, berries, and butterflies, and he dances with joyuntil he sees a leaf fall to the ground.

To Bear, in his first year, everything is new.

Leaves by David Ezra Stein