Big Bear Ball - Hardcover

Ryder, Joanne

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060279559 ISBN 13: 9780060279554

Publisher: Harpercollins Childrens Books, 2002

Synopsis

As evening arrives and the event of the year begins, all the animals of the forest, from the alligators to the moles, are soon on their feet--dancing the night away. 25,000 first printing.

About this title

Reviews

reSchool-Grade 2-This team has outdone itself. There is something to delight the eye on every page of this ball of fun. The story starts out with a beautiful moonlit picnic, guests arriving in boldly colored hot-air balloons, and turns into a rip-roaring blast of a party. Brown bears, polar bears, baby bears, and pandas are feasting on huge berries as they start to dance. The pages burst with vibrant reds and oranges for sunsets and every color in the rainbow appears in the animals' dresses, pants and shirts, ties, hats, and vests-from polka dots to stripes. Horns and fiddles wake up foxes and moles, and then frogs with banjos and gators, too. The rhythmic rhyme, in large type, is strategically placed so as to keep children's attention on the exuberant and fun-loving action that continues to build, and peaks with the "splish-splash song" when everybody-gators, frogs, moles, and the bears-are in the water dancing. Just before sunrise everyone slowly dances off as the balloons float away until the next full moon and "Big Bear Ball." An absolute must for every library.
Wanda Meyers-Hines, Ridgecrest Elementary School, Huntsville, AL
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

As Ryder's (Each Living Thing) rollicking rhythm makes clear, it's hoe-down time in the forest, and troupes of gussied-up bears arrive by hot-air balloon to cavort and caper by the light of the full moon. The bears believe everyone needs to boogie on the forest floor and atop the tree trunks: Now thump those stumps and wake the moles, proclaims the fiddling bear who serves as both the dance caller and narrator. Let's rouse the foxes from their holes. The poor foxes wave a flag of surrender, and moles are clearly not amused (Kindly do not disturb, reads a sign on the door), but on the next spread they, too, are cutting a rug. A few pages later, a huge gator also joins in, transforming the festivities into a pool party. With the blue hues of moonlight predominating, Kellogg covers every inch of the spreads with layers of translucent watercolor. He captures the bears' amiable plumpness and the unfettered high spirits of all the partygoers. Ryder's square-dance cadences will reward listeners of any age willing to assume a jaunty country-western twang. Ages 3-6.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Ages 2-5. It's a party, and the illustrations come dressed in a jubilee of colors! As the tangerine-colored setting sun casts its glow over the horizon, guests begin to drop in--literally. The bears arrive in intricate, colorfully designed, Easter egg-like hot air balloons; musicians appear as the full moon illuminates the night-blue forest where bears feast on abundant berries. Soon the guests find partners and dance, and the celebration picks up speed. As the tempo intensifies, the bears rouse the forest moles, twirl with the frogs, and spin logs with the gators. Kellogg paints the exuberance in the critters' wide-eyed, smiling faces, energetic postures, and merrily patterned clothes, and Ryder's light-footed rhymes set the celebratory pace. Together with Kellogg's rollicking bears, the words challenge youngsters to dance along at the Big Bear Ball. Ellen Mandel
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Harpercollins Childrens Books
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0060279559
• ISBN 13: 9780060279554
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Kellogg Steven
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32