Bear Wants to Sing
- Publisher
- Tundra
- Initial publish date
- Sep 2021
- Category
- Bears, Friendship, Music
- Recommended Age
- 3 to 7
- Recommended Grade
- p to 2
-
Hardback
- ISBN
- 9780735268036
- Publish Date
- Sep 2021
- List Price
- $21.99
Classroom Resources
Where to buy it
Description
Bear wants to sing his song, but the other animals won't give him a chance to perform his masterwork in this delightful picture book companion to the critically acclaimed King Mouse.
A bear finds a ukulele in the woods. It makes a nice sound -- PLINK! -- and inspires him to write his own song. His friend Mouse would love to hear it. But Bear isn't the only animal in the forest to find musical inspiration that day, and Snake, Crow and Tortoise keep taking his turn to perform. When they finally give him the opportunity and meet his song with less enthusiasm than he'd like, the discouraged bear shelves his music career forever . . . but the kindness, empathy and appreciation of his best friend will prove that his art deserves recognition and can even inspire others.
This dryly humorous and sweetly profound collaboration between two critically acclaimed children's book creators, a follow-up to the masterful King Mouse, has the makings of a modern classic.
About the authors
Cary Fagan is the author of eight previous novels and five books of short stories, including The Student, Great Adventures for the Faint of Heart, and A Bird's Eye. He has been nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Writers' Trust Fiction Award, the Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction, and has won the Toronto Book Award and the Canadian Jewish Book Award for Fiction. He is also an acclaimed writer of books for children, having won the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award, the IODE Jean Throop Book Award, a Mr. Christie Silver Medal, the Joan Betty Stuchner—Oy Vey!—Funniest Children's Book Award, and the Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People. Fagan's work has been translated into French, Italian, German, Dutch, Spanish, Catalan, Turkish, Russian, Polish, Chinese, Korean and Persian. He still lives in his hometown of Toronto.
DENA SEIFERLING is an illustrator and needle-felt artist living in Calgary, Alberta, with her husband, two children and two dogs. Alice and Gert is her second picture book. Her first book, King Mouse, written by Cary Fagan, was shortlisted for a Governor General’s Award.
Awards
- Short-listed, Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Canadian Picture Book Award
- Nominated, Ezra Jack Keats New Writer/Illustrator Award
Editorial Reviews
"Sparkling whimsy . . . a delicate story full of humor and friendship." —STARRED REVIEW, Kirkus Reviews
"This tender tale of creativity, manners, and nurturing friendship by the creators of King Mouse has all the makings of a contemporary classic." —STARRED REVIEW, Publishers Weekly
"Bear Wants to Sing celebrates kindness and the joys of expressing yourself in the presence of those you love." —STARRED REVIEW, CM: Canadian Review of Materials
