BABY BEAR’S BIG DREAMS

Yolen captures the universal wish of young children to be older and more grown-up without giving up the protective care and admiring love of their parents. This sweet but not saccharine story is told in first-person narrative by a preschool-aged bear dressed in plaid shorts or hiking clothes. He announces all the things he plans to do when he grows up “in a year or two,” such as inviting his friends to move in, staying up late and leaving his toys strewn all over the house. In short, rhyming text, the little bear ponders living in a toy store or a tree house and camping with just his big brother for company. The oversized format highlights Sweet’s engaging paintings done in mixed-media and collage, with the text set against backgrounds of lemon and lime. She fills her illustrations with clever details, such as a stuffed bee toy carried by the little bear (instead of a teddy bear), and her exuberant style is well-matched to the young bear’s playful antics and confident personality. (Picture book. 2-5)