Benjamin Bear in Bright Ideas!

Benjamin Bear in Bright Ideas!
by Philippe Coudray
TOON Books/Candlewick, 2013. 32 pgs. Comics.

Benjamin Bear has a lot of bright ideas which he mostly shares with his friend, the rabbit. On the cover of this book, as you see, Benjamin is speeding down the stairs on a bicycle with square wheels. "Let's go to your house!" he tells his fish friend in the fish bowl. He carries the bowl to the stream, tips the fish in, then puts the bowl full of air on his own head and walks under the water with his pal. Bear's adventures in crossing the river using only two rocks, getting rid of his fleas by tying himself to a tree and then running until the rope jerks him to a stop, sending the fleas flying, and building rabbit a house in the woods--by tearing down the woods-- are laugh out loud funny. There are not a lot of words in Coudray's delightful cartoon book, but there is a lot of ingenuity, goofball logic, and some hilarious misfires. A totally fun book to read with a child, or each on your own.

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