Bruno – Short Stories for Long Nights

Nine nifty bedtime stories in one!\nIt’s time for Bruno, the little brown bear, to hibernate.It will be many nights before spring comes again, so Mother Bear must find something special to help him sleep. When Mother Bear tells Bruno she’ll tell him stories, he can hardly wait. From an ocean swimming elephant, a flower picking panther, a flying squirrel, a hippo who wants to dance, and more, Mother Bear’s captivating and funny stories do the trick.\nThis special book of bedtime stories told in playful rhyming text by Serena Romanelli with enchanting illustrations by Hans de Beer is sure to brighten your nights.\nPraise for Hans de Beer's classic Little Polar Bear:\n“An endearing picture book.”— Children’s Literature Reviews\nFrom School Library Journal\nPreS-Gr 1-Bracketed by a young bear's trip to bed for the winter and waking up to spring are nine lightly rhyming tales of other animals and their minor adventures. Georgie, an elephant child, unable to find swim trunks to fit his wide behind, opts to go nude; Antonio, a tapir, picks his nose until he bloodies himself and is rewarded with a pet cone around his neck; Fifo, a frightened rabbit, gains courage from a magical herb that is actually only lettuce; Pia, a sleek little leopard, wants to wear flowers instead her black fur coat; and more. In the corner of each of Romanelli's rhyming tales is Bruno, the would-be-slumbering bear, still wakefully listening to the stories and inserting himself into the hero or heroine's role. A vegetarian crocodile, a patient tortoise, and a ballerina hippopotamus are among the other participants, in ebullient illustrations that lift the collection and make it ready for the bedtime shelves. VERDICT For naptime story hours, this work has soothing qualities to which most children will respond.-Kimberly Olson Fakihα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.