Where Is Bina Bear?

by Mike Curato (Author) Mike Curato (Illustrator)

Reading Level: K − 1st Grade

In Mike Curato's funny, poignant picture book Where Is Bina Bear?, a little rabbit throws a party--but can't find best friend Bina Bear anywhere!

Tiny is having a party, but Bina Bear is nowhere to be found. Is that Bina hiding under a lampshade? It looks like Bina . . . but it must be a lamp. Is that Bina beneath the fruit bowl? It could be . . . but it's probably just a table.

Searching for Bina, Tiny realizes something is wrong--and sets out to make it right. This is a humorous yet sincere picture book about friendship, understanding, and embracing our loved ones just as they are. 

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Hardcover
$19.99

Kirkus

Imbued with understanding and overt silliness; a quietly chucklesome affirmation of introverts.


Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

Bina, a large purple bear, is wearing a lampshade on her head at a party--and it's not a sign that she's having too good a time. "Bina? Is that you?" asks Tiny the rabbit, the party's host, after discovering Bina standing alone in a dark room. "I am not Bina. I am a lamp," the figure says. Tiny doesn't press when Bina camouflages herself as other, increasingly elaborate objects, including a table with a fruit bowl, a tree with a swing, and a full bookcase. But when Tiny finally asks the bear if she's okay, a tearful Bina--now hiding out in the kitchen as a bag of groceries--admits that she doesn't care for parties and only attended because she likes Tiny. Refreshingly, the host's response is not to cajole or push, but to be with Bina in a way that acknowledges the bear's feelings--even if it involves each of them wearing a lampshade. As always, Curato (Flamer) handles the theme of acceptance with empathy and a gently comic touch: the crisply rendered ink, watercolor, and pencil illustrations have a visual directness that appreciates the reality of Bina's needs, as shown through her masking attempts. It's a tender tribute to both lone wolves (er, bears) and the beings who love them. Ages 4-8. Agent: Brenda Bowen, the Book Group. (Jan.)

Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.
Mike Curato

Mike Curato has the fortune of possessing a designer's brain, an illustrator's heart, and an artist's vision. You can find him on any given day walking around the city eating a cupcake (or thinking about it).

Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781250762207
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Henry Holt & Company
Publication date
January 11, 2022
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV039060 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Friendship
JUV039050 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Emotions & Feelings
JUV002030 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Bears
JUV002210 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Rabbits
JUV039140 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance
Library of Congress categories
-

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