WHERE IS BEAR?

A young tot is trying to find Bear before bedtime.

The interactive narrative begins with a string of questions. “Where is Bear? / Where could Bear be?” A laundry list of locations follows. “Is Bear in the drawer? / Is Bear on the shelf?” The young white boy carefully searches room by room, even outdoors in the car, to find Bear. In each situation, as the boy peers around, readers will spot big furry paws, a snout sticking out of the laundry, or a decidedly ursine shadow following the boy. Finally, the youngster can’t take it anymore. In desperation, he plaintively asks readers, “Have you seen Bear?” An enormous, fuzzy form stands behind him, with arms splayed in the same questioning pose; it’s so huge it’s pictured only from the waist down. The boy whips his head around (in response to the audience’s inevitable shout), but there is just a blank wall. “What? Where?” When the boy finally does find Bear, it just may be different than what readers expect. Bentley’s watercolor-and-pencil illustrations add depth to the spare text, focusing on hidden sneak peeks of fur to heighten the anticipation.

An inventive twist on the familiar lost-teddy story.