Maudie and Bear

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Overview

Bear's world revolves around Maudie. Maudie's world also revolves around Maudie.

In this delightful picture book, readers will meet Maudie, a plucky young girl, and her friend Bear, a gentle giant with a heart of gold. Whether they are going on a bike ride, fixing an afternoon snack, or dancing together, Bear's love for Maudie is unwavering and his devotion will win over readers of all ages.

With beautiful ...

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More About This Book

Overview

Bear's world revolves around Maudie. Maudie's world also revolves around Maudie.

In this delightful picture book, readers will meet Maudie, a plucky young girl, and her friend Bear, a gentle giant with a heart of gold. Whether they are going on a bike ride, fixing an afternoon snack, or dancing together, Bear's love for Maudie is unwavering and his devotion will win over readers of all ages.

With beautiful prose and irresistible illustrations, Maudie and Bear is a classic in the making.

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Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly
With her Mary Janes, hair bow, and wardrobe of vintage shifts and jumpers, Blackwood’s (Harry & Hopper) supremely confident Maudie is a girl plucked from the pages of Kate Greenaway. As her best friend/parent surrogate, Bear weathers Maudie’s diva behavior with stoic patience, unconditional love, and a willingness both to do Maudie’s bidding and the resultant washing up. In fact, Bear’s selflessness almost puts the Giving Tree to shame, and this affection gap nearly undermines the five short stories that make up this book about truly unconditional love. The one exception is a take on the Goldilocks story, which ends with the normally self-assured and self-centered Maudie comically discombobulated after fleeing the bears’ house just in time. “Would you like some porridge?” the unflappable Bear asks. “I just want tea.... in my very own cup, sitting in my very own chair,” Maudie cries, barring the door dramatically and bursting into tears. “And I don’t want anybody else sitting in it!” Ormerod’s (Molly and Her Dad) writing is a model of economy and comic understatement, and Maudie and Bear’s interactions will be familiar to readers of all ages and temperaments. Ages 5–8. (Jan.)
Children's Literature - Carrie Hane Hung
Join the adventures of Maudie and Bear in this collection of five short stories. Maudie is a young girl who relies on Bear, a large, brown bear who kindly caters to Maudie's every whim that begin with "Let's..." In the first story, Maudie decides to go for a bike ride for exercise and Bear agrees to the idea. Bear patiently waits as Maudie locates her sunglasses, selects a hat, and gets a scarf. They eventually go out for a bike ride; however, a close look at the illustrations shows a twist to the story. The second story loosely follows the plot of Goldilocks and the Three Bears; the ending is sweet. In the story, "The Snack," Maudie is hungry and the intention is that they prepare a snack. Bear ends up making the snack with Maudie directing him. In each story, Bear demonstrates his love and devotion to Maudie. The beautiful watercolor illustrations add details to the plot. Children may enjoy the story of this interestingly paired duo. Reviewer: Carrie Hane Hung
School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 1—Five vignettes introduce readers to a spirited young girl and her best friend, Bear. In the first story, Maudie decides that she needs some exercise and suggests that she and Bear go for a bike ride. He waits patiently as she retrieves her sunglasses, hat, scarf, sunscreen, and bug spray. But in the final spread, it is Bear who is peddling up an enormous hill with Maudie riding in the bike's basket. In "The Snack," Maudie dictates very specific instructions to Bear about how to prepare her peanut butter sandwich, pancakes, yogurt, and fruit. While she picks dandelions, she even requests that the napkins be folded like swans. But, in the end, she exclaims, "everything looks perfect…far too good to eat!" In the final selection, the child grows frustrated with Bear as he keeps falling asleep while she is telling him a story. "I'm so sorry," he says. "Why don't we go for a walk to wake me up, and I can finish your story while we walk?" But of course, the final spread shows Maudie riding on Bear's shoulders, fast asleep. The charming, realistic pencil and watercolor illustrations reinforce the closeness between these two special pals and beautifully expand on the text. This sweet, cozy title will delight readers who enjoy endearing, imaginative stories of friendship.—Rachel Kamin, North Suburban Synagogue Beth El, Highland Park, IL
Kirkus Reviews
Picture books are full of odd-couple friendships, plenty of which feature a bear; this example stands out in splendid composition and an unsettling dynamic. Five stories showcase the domestic and emotional relationship between Maudie, a little girl in old-fashioned garb, and Bear, looming over Maudie with a curved body and gentle expression. Bear gives Maudie everything, from night-time dancing to a comforting lap after a Goldilocks-inspired forest scare. However, roles are oddly unclear: Bear seems too pandering for a parent, too ever-present for a babysitter. But nor are they peers, in the classic Frog and Toad mold. Is Bear a stuffed animal, fantasy-enlarged? Perhaps, because Bear caters to Maudie's every desire, and a toy bear on wheels (Bear's real form?) appears frequently; but Bear hurts Maudie's feelings twice, which doesn't seem fantasy-bear–like. (They make up both times, but both events are significant.) Humor lies in Maudie's exercising by sitting in a bike basket while Bear peddles or picking dandelions and fussing ("You forgot to peel the grapes") instead of helping fix their snack. Maudie's more self-entitled than amusingly childlike; Bear's an agreeable doormat when not laughing at her. The illustrations are more palatable. Soft watercolors inhabit loose, sketchy pencil lines. Blackwood's inventive compositions dance and change on every page, with visual material from spreads hiding creatively behind multi-sized sequential picture boxes. There's fascinating aesthetic composition here, if the relationship doesn't distract. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pamela Paul
…a hybrid picture and chapter book along the lines of Arnold Lobel's Frog and Toad series…It is a delicious collection thanks to the way it sensitively and beautifully captures the inner life of an inventive little girl as she projects herself into a variety of imagined social scenarios, with Bear alternately playing the part of mother, suitor, sibling and friend.
—The New York Times
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780399257094
  • Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
  • Publication date: 1/5/2012
  • Pages: 48
  • Sales rank: 596,055
  • Age range: 5 - 8 Years
  • Product dimensions: 9.10 (w) x 11.00 (h) x 0.60 (d)

Meet the Author

Jan Ormerod has written numerous books for children in Australia and the United Kingdom. She currently lives in Cambridge, England.

Freya Blackwood (www.freyablackwood.net) has illustrated numerous books for children in Australia; this is her fourth book published in the United States. She lives in New South Wales, Australia.

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