Thursday, November 05, 2009

Review: A visitor for Bear

A visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker, illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton

Bear is making his breakfast one morning when a mouse knocks at his door. Bear, however, does not like visitors and even has a sign on his door that states, loud and clear, "NO visitors allowed." The mouse is terribly persistent though, and manages to show up in the most unexpected of places until Bear caves and consents to share his tea and a crackling fire. Bear comes to realize how enjoyable a companion the mouse is, and that he has made a new friend.

This is an utterly charming and lovely book, and great to read aloud. The short politeness of mouse's lines just beg to be read in a British accent, and Bear certainly has thunderous tones when he is driven to the edge of sanity by the mouse's constant reappearance. The soft illustrations are evocative and the physicality of the two characters come out in spades: the mouse has excellent posture and you just know that Bear moves slowly. A must read.
Veterans' Week 2009

Remembrance Day is less than a week away, and as always we should take this opportunity to reflect upon what members of previous generations have sacrificed for us to live the lives of freedom that we have today. Below you will find a list of the Remembrance Day books at the PRES library - it's a growing collection!

Remembrance Day books at the library



Survivors

Prisoners in the Promised Land: The Ukrainian Internment Diary of Anya Soloniuk

My Story: The Battle of Britain: Harry Woods, England 1939-1941

My Story: U-Boat Hunter: Peter Rogers, HMS Arum 1939-1945

My Story: D-Day: Lieutenant Andy Pope, Normandy 1944

Poppy Is to Remember

Snow Treasure

Daniel's Story

The Bombing of Hiroshima: August 6, 1945

Hitler Invades Poland: 1 September 1939

Number the Stars

Brothers Far from Home: The World War 1 Diary of Eliza Bates

Hana's Suitcase: A True Story

The Girls They Left Behind

In Flanders Fields: The Story of the Poem by John McCrae

Where Poppies Grow: A World War I Companion

The Unknown Soldier

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

War Boy

Remembrance Day

My Story: The Trenches: Billy Stevens, the Western Front 1914-1918

My Story: Spy Smuggler

Desert Danger

Remember D-Day: Both Sides Tell Their Stories

True Stories of the Blitz: Internet Referenced

On Juno Beach: Canada's D-Day Heroes

At Vimy Ridge: Canada's Greatest World War I Victory

Don't You Know There's a War On?

The Orphans of Normandy : A True Story of World War II Told Through Drawings by Children

Warplanes

Artillery

Warships

Tanks



PRES's favorite books »