Baby Bear by Kadir Nelson

Baby Bear Reviews

• 
  Katt Hansen

  Am I the only person who is concerned about the message of this book?
  
  The pictures are beautiful. This is why I'm giving this three stars instead of two. The pictures are absolutely amazing and made me want to page through again, lingering over each and every one just to savor it.
  
  BUT
  
  You have a small creature lost. Approaching strangers. Being told to keep wandering, follow his heart, trust himself...
  
  It's a nice sweet message but you might want to talk to children about what to do if they're lost. If you're in the forest the lesson is to stay put and be found. Not to keep wandering, thinking you know the way, trusting yourself. And approaching potential enemies? *shakes head*
  
  Seriously, I know it's a sweet children's book trying to layer in a positive message designed to raise self-image with children. We're not supposed to take stories like this literally. But I question because I know this from experience - are you ever truly sure what a child is taking away from a story? (Ask them sometime after you're done reading and you might be more than a little bit surprised). I don't like books of this nature for that reason.
  
  At least the pictures are beautiful...?
• 
  Rebecca

  Kadir Nelson's artwork is always stunning, though I think his artwork with people is slightly stronger. I love the glowing blue/yellow combos in the night scenes here. Story-wise, I was a little less sure what was happening. I may be too literal, but I wanted to know why the owl declared his love, and whether all the animals were to be viewed as one big comforting family when the frog was "busy" and the salmon asked not to be eaten before offering help.
  
  "When I am lost I hug a tree and think of home."
• 
  Kathryn

  This is sweet but I was a little underwhelmed. For me, it was just kind of standard cute-animal-adventure fare... little bear is lost in the forest and talks to a bunch of animals to help him find his way home. As other reviewers noted, it's a bit implausible sometimes and I do wish there had been some mention of how Baby Bear's mother was looking for him, too? We don't even see a mother bear at the end, which really surprised me. Maybe I was expecting more... Nelson's artwork just didn't resonate with me here as much as it has in many of his other books so I guess I'm more drawn to his people than his animals.
• 
  Stacy

  Beautiful pictures!
  Wish they accompanied a story instead of advice.
• 
  Tasha

  Nelson returns with a picture book about a lost baby bear that showcases his luminous art work. Baby Bear is lost and can’t find his way back home. So he asks different animals about how to find his home again. Mountain Lion suggests that he figure out how he got here. Frog is rather busy, but tells Baby Bear not to be frightened. The Squirrels suggest that he hug a tree. Moose tells Baby Bear to listen to his heart. Owl reassures him and Ram encourages him to climb high and keep walking. Finally, Salmon leads him across the river and Baby Bear is home.
  
  Nelson writes with the tone of a folktale, a measured pace and a strong structure of questions and answers. Told entirely in dialogue between the animals, the setting and action is left to the gorgeous illustrations to explain. My favorite moment is the ending of the book where there is no family to meet Baby Bear, no structure of “home” for him to return to, just an understanding and a pure moment of realization that he IS home.
  
  Nelson’s art is stunningly lovely. He uses light and perspective to really show the story. We see Baby Bear from different angles, one amazing double-page spread just has a close up of his eyes with the moon reflected in them. Each page is a treat visually, each building to that moment of already being home.
  
  Shimmering and lush, this picture book will open discussions about what home is, mindfulness and following one’s heart. Appropriate for ages 4-6.
  
• 
  babyhippoface

  Initially when I see there’s a new book from Kadir Nelson, there’s a sense of anticipation. I was excited to see this new book as well. But I was very disappointed.
  
  It seemed as though Nelson was trying to write this like an old Native American tale, but there were inconsistencies that cannot be overlooked. Baby Bear is searching for home when the moon is high and yet he is seen talking to squirrels, who are not nocturnal, mountain goats, who are also not nocturnal, and other animals who would be sleeping during the night as well. This seems unreasonable, even in an easy picture book.
  
  The fact that a salmon agrees to lead Baby Bear home (as long as Bear promises not to eat him) is over the top. Again, it made me feel like Nelson was trying to write a Native American tale, but it just did not work.
  One thing that can always be found in Kadir Nelson’s illustrations, though is beauty. But here, again there is an odd feeling of inconsistency. While some of the illustrations are exquisitely done (the mountain goat, for example), at other times the baby bear’s eyes seem hollow and soulless.
  
  I just could not make myself like this one. I will not be purchasing this for my library.
  
• 
  Carmen

  Absolutely gorgeous illustrations. A baby bear is lost. Is it just me or is this a very common children's book theme? Are baby bears just navigationally-challenged, or what? Anyway, this super-polite baby bear asks all the different forest animals how to get home. All the forest animals love and trust him, even though he probably eats them on a daily basis. The only one that asks the bear not to eat him is the salmon, which is appropriate, I guess. Again, the illustrations are out of this world.
• 
  Lindsay

  I got excited when I saw a new title by Mr Nelson, but I feel let down. The paintings were beautiful but lacked a bit of the soul found in his depiction of people. Baby Bear gets lost and asks forest and mountain animals for advice on getting home. Some advice is more practical or useful than others but the message was certainly of the "follow your heart" variety. Not my fav.
• 
  Holly Mueller

  Such a peaceful, sweet story about Baby Bear trying to find his way home. I love when Moose catches him hugging a tree. Gorgeous illustrations.
• 
  Tracy

  Kadir Nelson's illustrations are top-notch, but the story is forgettable. Nelson is at his best when illustrating other author's stories. I notice he has moved on from illustrating picture books and has won a lot of awards this year for magazine covers. He is an amazing artist and I'm glad I discovered his work through picture books.
• 
  Clive

  He always lingers over Kadir Nelson's books. Maybe it's the big faces.
• 
  Heidi

  The minute I see the name "Kadir Nelson" I have to buy the book. I love his artwork and his books are inevitably wonderful. This one is no different. The story follows a young bear who is lost as he seeks to find his way home. He receives advice from the other animals he meets along the way, each seeking to help him in their own way. From the cougar who tells him to "remember how you got here" to the ram who tells him to sing a song, Baby Bear searches for the way home. A beautiful look at the journey that we all take through life searching for a place to call home and those we meet along the way to help guide us there. A sweet story that can be looked at from many levels of understanding with much that can be discussed and enjoyed. The illustrations are vintage Nelson from the sweet-eyed bear to the grinning salmon and the end pages which depict a night scene giving way to dawn. I think my favorite illustration though is the one with Baby Bear hugging the tree and thinking of home.
• 
  Paula

  Maybe sometimes I see Christian allegory in everything - but I sure saw this book as an allegory about "going home" to heaven. A number of creatures help lost little Baby Bear on his way, urging him to look within himself, sing a song, climb a little higher... until at last he stands on his hind legs atop a rock, a rainbow arcing through the mist from a waterfall, and, surveying a beautiful sunrise, declares, "Yes, I can see. I AM home."
  
  A terrific book to have on the table for the little people at a homegoing service.
  
• 
  Halli

  I was going to use this book for preschool storytime, because the illustrations are so captivating. However, after reading the story, I decided not to use it. The way Baby Bear and the other animals speak to each other is a bit syrupy sweet, and seemed unnatural (i.e. calling each other "dear -insert animal name here-"). I was very disappointed at the end, when lost little Baby Bear found his way home, but there were no other bears there waiting for him to return.
• 
  Lorna

  Not my favorite Kadir Nelson book. I was turned off by the dismissive tone some animals took with Bear. While many page spread perspectives were lovely (I loved Bear looking up at the squirrels), others felt really odd and the scale change seemed overkill (the super close up of Bear's eyes and snout).
• 
  Bethany Harnden

  The conversations a little lost cub has with the various wise animals who help guide him home lend this book a calming sense of wisdom and reassurance to anyone who has felt lost in life. The illustrations are rich and lush. The only question I have is: how did the bear get lost and whom does he return home to in the end? I would have been reassured to see a parent reunite with him.
• 
  Karen

  The close-up of baby bear's face with the moon and stars reflected in his eyes makes this a five star picture book for me and helped it earn an Honor at the 2015 Mock Caldecott Workshop hosted by the Carmel Clay Public Library. Rich colors, detailed endpapers, great variation in perspective.
• 
  Edward Sullivan

  The narrative of this sweet, reassuring story does not quite match the spectacular illustrations. Great for bedtime reading.
• 
  Janet

  Beautiful!
• 
  Ms. B

  Kadir Nelson for your very youngest, this would make a most lovely board book. Soothing pictures and a quiet, bedtime like feel to they story.
• 
  Brittnee

  The illustrations match the beauty of the story. A must read for everyone, not just parents and children.
• 
  Arin

  I read this in storytime to three very different groups of preschoolers, and it was a hit all around. Sure, you could criticize the animals approached by Baby Bear for not being helpful enough, for simply telling this lost little guy to keep going and he will find his home. It's a valid critique that a book written for children wouldn't include more trustworthy, nurturing grown-ups. It's also true that when one is lost in the woods, to keep walking is almost surely to become more lost.
  But, BUT. This is a book about following your heart, about realizing that home is where your friends are (even if they're not that great at giving advice). And Kadir Nelson's inimitable artwork truly glows here. It takes my breath away, and it even had 4 year olds gasping in awe (especially the spread showing Baby Bear swimming with the salmon and the one showing his eyes reflecting the full moon).
• 
  Mason Crayne

  Baby Bear by Kadir Nelson is about a baby bear who is lost and trying to find his way home. He asks all the forest animals he comes along with but no one knows exactly where he is from. None of the animals give him good advice about how to get back home except for the salmon. The salmon told him he was very close and to follow him. So the baby bear jumps in the river and follows him and then the salmon tells him to jump up onto some rocks and asks him if he can see. Baby bear said he could see and says that he is home. Although, we couldn't see any other bears in the books, we could infer that they were down in the valley where the last page was just an illustration of a beautiful view. The text on each page was kind of repetitive because Baby Bear just kept asking how to get home and the illustrations by Kadir Nelson were so beautifully done to show the animals.
• 
  Rana ♡

  Baby Bear written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson is the story about a baby bear who is lost late at night in a forest. He asks multiple animals for help and directions along his journey, but no one gives him direct advice. Instead, they give him vague advice about finding his way back home. An example is when the moose tells Baby Bear that when he is lost he sits still and listens to his heart. Baby Bear is thankful for the advice even though none of it is really useful. He finally comes in contact with a salmon who leads him home. I believe that Nelson’s goal with this book is to teach kids that even when you want something or to get somewhere so badly, sometimes you have to slow down and enjoy the journey.
  
• 
  Michael

  GORGEOUS artwork. A little bear gets lost, and rather than helping him, everyone tells him to "look within himself". Yea. we've all tried that buddy. We can't trust the things we think and feel ESPECIALLY when we feel lost. Ever talked to someone who was depressed for instance? Yea, not good. The only one who actually helps him is the Salmon fish, his prey, who guides him back home. EVERYONE else gives him mystical nonsense and leaves the poor bear to wander alone. The owl does say something that's good: I'm with you. Bear was so scared that he overlooked those who were there. But did owl do anything to help? No. Salmon was the only one who stopped what he was doing to help rather than giving mystical nonsense.
• 
  Melle

  I AM NOT CRYING; YOU ARE. Already in my top-ten artists of all time, Kadir Nelson shows his wildlife art is just as sublime and superb, just as filled with emotion and vivacity, as his human portraits. The story itself is a lovely journey to home, both conceptually as a place but also as a community, and the use of native North American animals makes this applicable for children's science/biology units studying the kinds of animals found in a particular geographic location. The story itself will pierce the hearts of readers who have ever felt lost or homesick with its sweetness. A+ face-melting goodness!