Breaking News: Bear Alert

by David Biedrzycki, David Biedrzycki (Illustrator)

Overview

We interrupt your day for this breaking news. . .

Two bears awaken from hibernation and go to town—literally. During their visit, they eat at a diner, dress up at a department store, and stop a couple of bank robbers, all the while mistaking the townspeople’s terror for friendliness. The news-reporting-style of storytelling puts readers in the action and on the edge of their seats. Illustrations jam-packed with puns, clues, and jokes will have the whole family or classroom laughing out loud and eager to find out what happens next—will the bears terrorize the town? Will the cat burglars be caught? Will the city come to a grinding halt?

Tune in to find out.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled day.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781607347422
Publisher:	Charlesbridge
Publication date:	09/09/2014
Series:	Breaking News , #1
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	27 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

David Biedrzycki is the author and illustrator of Groundhog's Runaway Shadow, as well as the Breaking News series, the Me and My Dragon series, and the Ace Lacewing, Bug Detective series. He has also illustrated many picture books, including Jerry Pallotta's The Beetle Alphabet Book, The Boat Alphabet Book, The Freshwater Alphabet Book, and Dory Story. David lives in Massachusetts with his wife and three children.

Read an Excerpt

We interrupt this program to bring you . . . BREAKING NEWS: Bear Alert! Two bears seen entering Teddy’s Diner. Witnesses say they did not wait to be seated. Bears reportedly demanded to be fed. They did not leave a good tip.

Editorial Reviews

08/04/2014
Chaos reigns in this mock televised caper, when a children’s nature show called Our Furry Planet is interrupted by a bulletin about two bears on the loose. The brown, cartoonish bears ramble along upright, try out binoculars acquired from the frightened Furry Planet host, and appear oblivious to the panic they cause as they dance in the streets and visit a photo booth. Biedrzycki (Me and My Dragon), whose illustrations call to mind Dan Santat’s work in the Oh No! books, composes the landscape-oriented pages as a wide-screen, high-definition news broadcast, complete with man-on-the-scene interviews—a clueless mother is too busy with her phone to notice the bears; a diner cook explains his refusal to serve the “barefoot” bears—a scrolling blue ticker with updates from a “Skycam 3” helicopter, and multiple security videos. Two burglars and their cat take advantage of the fray, as seen on video at a “Paddington’s” department store, until the bears accidentally foil the crooks and are deemed heroes. Bear wordplay, puns, and children’s book references abound in this romp, which comically exploits our cultures of distraction and surveillance. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Curious bears trigger a media frenzy. It all starts when Jean Louis, the host of the kids' show Our Furry Planet, pokes a sleeping bear. The bear rears up, startled. Jean Louis flees, and the bear's not far behind. He and a pal perch atop the Our Furry Planet truck gleefully, with arms in the air as if riding a roller coaster. Across the bottom of every double-page spread, updates appear in a blue ribbon, just like on the TV news channels. Except here, the updates are dire while the bears are clearly no threat. As people run screaming through the streets, the bears calmly take in the sights. When two terrified kids abandon their toy vehicles, the bears happily jump on. (Mom's so excited to be on television she doesn't notice a thing.) In hats and human clothes, the bears go unnoticed at a department store. (Hysterically, the mail bear's outfit resembles Paddington's, while the female's dress looks an awful lot like the Berenstains' Mother Bear's.) Outside, the bears make a beeline for an ice cream truck, inadvertently interfering with robbers making a getaway. In an instant, the bears go from fugitives to media darlings. Biedrzycki delivers a genuine message with a light touch. His Adobe Photoshop illustrations are bold and playful, appropriately reminiscent of vintage Hanna-Barbera and a good match for the slapstick story.
Fun and topical.
-Kirkus Reviews

Chaos reigns in this mock televised caper, when a children's nature show called Our Furry Planet is interrupted by a bulletin about two bears on the loose. The brown, cartoonish bears ramble along upright, try out binoculars acquired from the frightened Furry Planet host, and appear oblivious to the panic they cause as they dance in the streets and visit a photo booth. Biedrzycki (Me and My Dragon), whose illustrations call to mind Dan Santat's work in the Oh No! books, composes the landscape-oriented pages as a wide-screen, high-definition news broadcast, complete with man-on-the-scene interviews—a clueless mother is too busy with her phone to notice the bears; a diner cook explains his refusal to serve the "barefoot" bears—a scrolling blue ticker with updates from a "Skycam 3" helicopter, and multiple security videos. Two burglars and their cat take advantage of the fray, as seen on video at a "Paddington's" department store, until the bears accidentally foil the crooks and are deemed heroes. Bear wordplay, puns, and children's book references abound in this romp, which comically exploits our cultures of distraction and surveillance.
-Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

10/01/2014
K-Gr 2—Better suited to individual reading than storytime, this picture book is loaded with comedic touches that make poring over the pages a lot of fun. The text is minimal, only appearing as the recognizable ticker that runs at the bottom of the television screen during cable news programming or in speech balloons over the heads of citizens being interviewed by reporters. The lack of a fully written narrative requires readers to really delve into the art to glean clues to the story line, a wonderful means for deep engagement. Two bears wake from their winter slumber and decide to take a field trip to civilization, having a ball while townsfolk run this way and that in alarm. The illustrations are big, bold, and delightfully busy. As the bears enjoy their outing, a secondary situation develops involving two thieves and a charming feline sidekick. The criminals and critters cross paths in the end, and the wayward bears are feted as heroes for actions that only coincidentally save the day. Kids will love the goofy grown-ups, round-bellied bears, and tiny jokes—like a diner sign advertising porridge "too hot, too cold, or just right"—embedded in the artwork, and they'll enjoy putting together all the rib-tickling pieces of the story on their own.—Alyson Low, Fayetteville Public Library, AR

School Library Journal

2014-06-29
Curious bears trigger a media frenzy.It all starts when Jean Louis, the host of the kids' show Our Furry Planet, pokes a sleeping bear. The bear rears up, startled. Jean Louis flees, and the bear's not far behind. He and a pal perch atop the Our Furry Planet truck gleefully, with arms in the air as if riding a roller coaster. Across the bottom of every double-page spread, updates appear in a blue ribbon, just like on the TV news channels. Except here, the updates are dire while the bears are clearly no threat. As people run screaming through the streets, the bears calmly take in the sights. When two terrified kids abandon their toy vehicles, the bears happily jump on. (Mom's so excited to be on television she doesn't notice a thing.) In hats and human clothes, the bears go unnoticed at a department store. (Hysterically, the male bear's outfit resembles Paddington's, while the female's dress looks an awful lot like the Berenstains' Mother Bear's.) Outside, the bears make a beeline for an ice cream truck, inadvertently interfering with robbers making a getaway. In an instant, the bears go from fugitives to media darlings. Biedrzycki delivers a genuine message with a light touch. His Adobe Photoshop illustrations are bold and playful, appropriately reminiscent of vintage Hanna-Barbera and a good match for the slapstick story.Fun and topical. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews