No Bears

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Overview

Ella is in charge of this book, and she will tell you something right now. There are NO BEARS in it. Not even one.

Ella wants to tell you a story — a story with absolutely no bears. You don’t need bears for a book. You need pretty things like fairies and princesses and castles and maybe funny things and exciting things. In Ella’s kind of story, there are no bears in the village or the castle or the deep dark forest or faraway lands. But there might be . . . a monster! Riffing on...

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More About This Book

Overview

Ella is in charge of this book, and she will tell you something right now. There are NO BEARS in it. Not even one.

Ella wants to tell you a story — a story with absolutely no bears. You don’t need bears for a book. You need pretty things like fairies and princesses and castles and maybe funny things and exciting things. In Ella’s kind of story, there are no bears in the village or the castle or the deep dark forest or faraway lands. But there might be . . . a monster! Riffing on well-known fairy-tale themes, this fun, offbeat story is perfectly matched by playful illustrations with a running visual joke that will keep even bear lovers smiling.

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Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly
A humble bear is the unsung hero of this story-within-a-story told by Ella. “Every time you read a book,” Ella complains, “it’s just bears bears bears—horrible furry bears slurping honey in awful little caves.” In the bear-free story Ella invents, which unspools within small color spreads that leave plenty of room for action in the white space of the margins, a princess is stolen away by a monster. Ella says the princess is saved by her fairy godmother, but readers see that it’s really the friendly bear, lurking in the periphery, who borrows the fairy godmother’s wand and defeats the monster. Rudge’s artwork looks something like Oliver Jeffers’s; her illustrations, Ella’s bossy-pants narration, and the many cameos by favorite fairy tale characters all contribute to the success of this primer in irony. Ella’s final claim that her story was good “because there were no bears in it. Not one!” is countered by the characters (Red Riding Hood, a wolf) pointing mutely to the bear; a coda that gives the bear its due adds to the charm of the whole. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)
From the Publisher
In delicate, curlicued drawings, we see an evil monster stomping through the pages to kidnap a princess "so she could read him bedtime stories every night." Rescue comes when the princess cries out, "Someone save me!" and someone does. Who is this someone? Children ages 5-7 will have been chortling all along because they know that the princess is protected by a fairy godmother who happens to be . . . a bear. A charming fable.
—The Wall Street Journal

Ella proclaims that she is in charge of this book, and this book will have no bears, not a one: "Every time you read a book, it’s just BEARS BEARS BEARS." She decrees that her book will have a monster and a princess and a fairy godmother instead, makes herself a crown, and begins her bear-free tale. Readers, however, can see perfectly well in the delicate and droll illustrations that there is a bear in the book they’re reading... This is a picture book that will send the reader delightedly back again and again to sort out the layers of reality... Both the story and the inventive digital pictures draw readers in deeper and deeper, along with the many fairy-tale details to discover (clever viewers will spot all the usual suspects, from Little Red Riding Hood to Rapunzel to the Three Little Pigs).
—The Horn Book

"I’m tired of bears. Every time you read a book, it’s just BEARS BEARS BEARS," grumps the young narrator. Claiming that you don’t need them, she proceeds to craft a story about a monster who sets out to steal a princess and is ultimately foiled by a fairy godmother. Fair enough—but as is evident from the episode’s first page on, the godmother hovering watchfully just beyond the edges of each scene is unmistakably ursine... Young fans of David Wiesner’s THREE PIGS (2001) and other metafictive romps will be properly amused.
—Kirkus Reviews

Children's Literature - Suzanna E. Henshon
Ella can't wait to tell a story filled with fairy tale elements. Because she's in charge of this book, Ella decides not to include bears. She's tired of bears, particularly bears who inhabit fairy tales. She wants to write about fairies, princesses, and monsters. So Ella writes a story without a single bear in it. With funny editorial commentary, Ella takes young readers on a magical adventure to a kingdom without a single bear. This story becomes scary the moment a monster strolls across the page. The monster crosses a river, climbs a mountain, and stomps through several kingdoms. Then he steals a princess. But the fairy godmother comes to the rescue, saving the princess with fantastical magical powers. At the end of this amusing story, Ella gazes out at the reading audience with a twinkle in her eye. Young readers will enjoy this lively story and the charming illustrations that populate this book. Reviewer: Suzanna E. Henshon, Ph.D.
School Library Journal
PreS-K—Ella, the narrator of this lively picture book, asserts that stories should have "fairies and princesses and castles," but definitely not bears as she is tired of them. She proceeds to tell a tale completely devoid of bears—except for the scene stealer that keeps popping up in the margins to help, hinder, and, ultimately, save the day. The text plays off Rudge's winsome illustrations to great effect, with literary references to everything from "The Gingerbread Man" to "The Owl and the Pussycat." The expressive pictures, dancing across the spreads in a palette of yellows, greens, and browns, are so detailed and artistic that one would never know they were created digitally. The bears/no bears joke upon which the story rests may be a thin one, but children will be delighted to be in the know, especially when they find the familiar characters hidden in the illustrations.—Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD
Kirkus Reviews
A storyteller spins a tale of her own devising--while the pictures tell a somewhat different one. "I'm tired of bears. Every time you read a book, it's just BEARS BEARS BEARS," grumps the young narrator. Claiming that you don't need them, she proceeds to craft a story about a monster who sets out to steal a princess and is ultimately foiled by a fairy godmother. Fair enough--but as is evident from the episode's first page on, the godmother hovering watchfully just beyond the edges of each scene is unmistakably ursine. Framed as ring-bound notebook pages, Rudge's pale, fine-lined illustrations feature a comfy royal family and a not-very-scary monster that resembles a misshapen, rubber limbed frog. There are also an owl and a pussycat, three pigs, gingerbread men, a girl in a red hood and assorted other familiar figures looking on with increasing puzzlement as the narrator resolutely ignores the elephant--or in this case, the bear--in the room, even after she reaches a "happy ever after." Young fans of David Wiesner's Three Pigs (2001) and other metafictive romps will be properly amused. (Picture book. 6-8)
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780763658908
  • Publisher: Candlewick Press
  • Publication date: 3/27/2012
  • Pages: 32
  • Sales rank: 252,937
  • Age range: 3 - 7 Years
  • Product dimensions: 9.60 (w) x 10.80 (h) x 0.60 (d)

Meet the Author

Meg McKinlay is a poet as well as a children's writer. She lives in Australia and divides her time between writing and teaching at the University of Western Australia.

Leila Rudge received a degree in illustration from Bath Spa University in her native England and now lives in Australia.

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