Horrible Bear!
By Ame Dyckman
Illustrated by Zachariah OHora
Little, Brown and Company, 2016.
A girl with a large bushel of red, curly hair goes out to fly a kite. Only, the kite string breaks and the kite flies into a cave where a bear is sleeping. While trying to get the kite, the bear rolled over and broke the kite. “Horrible Bear!” cries the girl. Off she goes stomping home (after waking the bear and disturbing quite a few others) to growl and fume over what happened. The bear who is not so happy about being called “horrible” decides he will be and off he goes following the girl to show just how horrid he can be. Of course there is a realization and a reconciliation of what has truly happened. Toddlers will love repeating the “Horrible Bear” refrain while grownups will enjoy the message of thinking through who was really horrible and what should they have done about it. This is a fun tale for either a group or a child and grownup to read together.
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