Big Bear Hug (Life in The Wild)

by Nicholas Oldland (Author) Nicholas Oldland (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade
A huge bear is wandering through the forest - but wait a minute! Who's that he's hugging? A beaver? And a moose? And a bird? And a tree?Welcome to the world of Big Bear Hug, a contemporary fable about a bear who has an appetite for hugging everything in sight - even creatures that bears have been known to eat. One day, the benevolent bear meets up with a human. This human proceeds to do something the bear cannot understand: he raises his axe and begins to cut down a tree. Suddenly the bear doesn't feel like hugging anymore and must make a difficult decision on how to stop this destruction in his forest.The environmental message of Big Bear Hug is both funny and powerful, while simple enough to engage very young children and show them the awesome power of a hug.
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School Library Journal

K-Gr 2"There once was a bear so filled with love and happiness that whenever he roamed the forest and came across another living thing, he would give it a hug." The joke follows when a page turn reveals a shocked and terrified bunny caught up in his big arms. The sweet but deadpan text paired with the almost slapstick cartoon art makes for an entertaining conservation story. This large, lovable, dopey-looking bear loves hugging treesall kinds of treesmost of all. When he observes a man staring up at one, he thinks he has found a kindred spirituntil the man takes a swing with his axe. The completely enraged animal must then find a way to stay true to himself and save the tree. Flat illustrations done in Photoshop feature simple shapes in blues, greens, and browns with plenty of white space. While ultimately the message here is a little heavy-handed, the book's quick humor makes it easy to embrace."Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library, MA" Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Publishers Weekly

Recast Ferdinand the bull as a bear living in the North Woods, with hugs filling in for flower sniffingthats a workable summation of this debut effort. While the ursine hero may look like a hulking beast, hes actually so filled with love and happiness that he gives out hugs wherever he goeswhether the recipient asked for one or not (He even hugged creatures that bears have been known to eat). And even more than hugging animals, the bear loves to hug trees. But when a woodsman threatens one of the tallest, oldest, and most beautiful trees in the forest, will the bear revert to type? Oldlands rustic-styled digital artwork looks like a hip flannel pajama print (which is probably no coincidence, given that hes creative director at an apparel company), and his pictures play sly comic foil to the earnest text. Ages 37. "(Sept.)" Copyright 2009 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.

Review quotes

... an attractive and appealing book.—Quill & Quire
Nicholas Oldland
Nicholas Oldland enjoyed success as a commercial artist before taking up the role of creative director at Hatley and Little Blue House, popular apparel companies he runs with his brothers. He is the author-illustrator of the Life in the Wild series and Dinosaur Countdown. Nicholas lives in Toronto, Ontario, with his family.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781554534647
Lexile Measure
450
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Kids Can Press
Publication date
September 01, 2009
Series
Life in the Wild
BISAC categories
JUV002030 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Bears
JUV029010 - Juvenile Fiction | Nature & the Natural World | Environment
Library of Congress categories
-

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