Available:*
Library | Audience | Home Location | Material Type | Shelf Number | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... Central | Kid/Juvenile | Open Stacks Picture Books | Open Stacks Kids Book | E PFIST | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Kashmere Gardens | Kid/Juvenile | Picture books | Kids book | E P | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
It is Honey Bear's birthday, but it seems as if everyone except his mother has forgotten. Then Mother calls Honey Bear into the clearing and, ""Surprise!"" there is his whole family and his very best friend singing ""Happy Birthday"" to him! Mother brings out a beautiful cake. ""Blow out the candles, Honey Bear,"" she says. ""And don't forget to make a wish."" What should Honey Bear wish for? They all offer different suggestions that reflect their affection for Honey Bear and their particular relationship to him, and they are all good wishes. What will Honey Bear decide?From the creator of the bestselling Rainbow Fish books comes a sweet and simple story about a lucky little bear who discovers just how much he is loved.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Even youngest readers will predict what a turn of the page will bring when they absorb the opening scene: Honey Bear sits despondently on a rock, wondering if everyone except his mother has forgotten his birthday. "Surprise!" shouts his furry extended family and best friend as Mother brings out a birthday cake garnished with leaves and berries. As the young bear wonders what to wish for, each member of the party makes a suggestion in which they have a vested interest (e.g., his sister tells him, "Wish for lots of time to play. Especially with me"; his father advocates a wish "for a big salmon the next time we go fishing"). In a limited palette of greens, browns and grays, Pfister (The Rainbow Fish) depicts each of these would-be wishes coming true. Finally, Honey Bear makes his own wishÄ"that all his birthdays could be as happy as this one!"Äadding a final dollop of honey to this treacly tale. Ages 5-8. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Just as Honey Bear is about to blow out the candles on his birthday cake, he wonders what he should wish for. Everyone offers suggestions, from wishing for luck to wishing for an undisturbed winter's sleep. Honey Bear's wish is overly sweet, but preschoolers will enjoy speculating about what it will be, as well as what their own would be. The blandly smiling bears in the artwork match the saccharine text. From HORN BOOK Spring 2000, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Ages 3^-5. In a departure from his customary glittery foil artwork, Pfister uses peppy, expressive watercolors to relay a simple story about a little bear having a birthday. Honey Bear doesn't know what to wish for when blowing out his birthday candles. His family and his best friend make suggestions. Mother urges him to wish for all the luck in the world, Brother suggests lots of good friends, and sleepy Grandfather suggests a long, undisturbed winter's hibernation. Honey Bear thinks those things are fine, but he decides to wish that all his birthdays will be as happy as this one. The text is a bit flat and didactic, but that's offset by the sweet, peaceful scenes of Honey Bear's life, which convey the affection the other bears have for the birthday child. Recommended for larger collections. --Shelley Townsend-Hudson
Library Journal Review
PreS-K-Honey Bear is about to blow out the candles on his birthday cake, but he doesn't know what to wish for. Family members give him suggestions, such as luck, friends, sunshine, a big salmon, etc. In the end, he makes up his own wish: "that all his birthdays could be as happy as this one!" Some readers may hope for a wish that's a little zippier than that. The writing is not very snappy either. The ink-and-watercolor illustrations match the story, with interchangeable, cartoonish bears. There are so many good picture books about birthdays, including Marjorie Flack's wonderful Ask Mr. Bear (Macmillan, 1968), that it's not necessary to add this one.-Carolyn Jenks, First Parish Unitarian Church, Portland, ME (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
