Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?

by Bill Martin Jr, Eric Carle (Illustrator)

Overview

What will you hear when you read this book to a preschool child?

Lots of noise!

Children will chant the rhythmic words. They'll make the sounds the animals make. And they'll pretend to be the zoo animals featured in the book—look at the last page!

Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle are two of the most respected names in children's education and children's illustrations. This collaboration, their first since the classic Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (published more than thirty years ago and still a bestseller) shows two masters at their best.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780805090956
Publisher:	Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date:	10/02/2012
Series:	Brown Bear and Friends
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	28
Sales rank:	222,968
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 10.60(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	1 - 3 Years

About the Author

Bill Martin Jr, an elementary-school principal, teacher, writer, and poet, held a doctoral degree in early childhood education. His many books, among them the bestselling classics Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?; Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?; Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?; and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, are a testament to his ability to speak directly to children.

Eric Carle was born in the United States, but spent his early years in Stuttgart, Germany. His many innovative books have earned him a place in the canon of classic children's literature. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? was the first book he illustrated; he then went on to write and illustrate The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Very Busy Spider, and The Very Quiet Cricket, as well as many other books for children. Mr. Carle works in a studio near his home in western Massachusetts.

Reading Group Guide

Collage Art
The art in all the Bear books is unique and done in the traditional Eric Carle collage method. Have children replicate such art by painting white tissue paper with various bold colors and textures. Once dry, have them cut the paper into various images of choice to create a collage-style work of art.

Create Your Own Book
Popular zoo animals are featured in Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? Ask children to describe other animals found at a zoo (giraffe, gorilla, tiger). Create your own version of the book. Children can work in pairs or individually. Distribute any size piece of oaktag to each group and have them place their artwork in the center of the oaktag. Then cut out a rectangular piece of paper or oaktag to cover the art. Adhere it at the top creating a flap to cover the art. Draw black lines on the flap making each cover look like a cage in the zoo. The text should be written above and below the flap. For example: Gorilla, gorilla what do you hear? I hear a tiger roaring at me. Lift the flap and there is a caged tiger!

Animal Masks
The last page of Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? portrays children dancing with animal masks. Have children create their own animal masks using any medium of choice, such as paper plates, construction paper, etc. Have children select animals from any of the Bear books. When the masks are finished, the children can march in an animal parade acting out each animal's sound and/or action (a mule deer running, etc.).

What Do You See?
After reading all the Bear books, reread the last line in Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?: "Dreaming Child, Dreaming Child, what do you see?" Ask the children what they see in their dreams. Continue the book by having each child complete the sentence: I see ________.

Adopt an Endangered Animal
Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? addresses the issue of endangered species and highlights ten out of five thousand possible animals in jeopardy. Discuss the concept of an endangered animal: what it means to be endangered; what should be done; what we can do as a community; the importance of preserving all living things. Decide upon a course of action that would draw awareness to such an issue. One activity might be to adopt an endangered animal.

The Five Senses
The Bear books highlight two out of the five senses—sight and sound. Use these books to launch a lesson on the five senses, in particular taste, touch, and smell. Challenge children to write (or recite) what the various animals would eat, feel, and smell. For example, Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You Eat? would highlight what each of the native North American animals might consume. Have fun adding adjectives to describe the food!

Sequencing
The animals in each Bear book appear in a particular sequence. Challenge children to remember the order of appearance of each animal. Have the children draw each animal character. Children may want to work in pairs, as there are ten animals per book. Once the art is completed, then begin by reading the first sentence of the book and have each animal pair stand when appropriate. See if they can remember the correct order for each cast of animal characters!

Brown Bear's Birthday Party!
Celebrate Brown Bear's 40th anniversary by throwing a bear birthday party. Have children bring their favorite bear to the party or create papier-mâché replicas of any of the animals found in the Bear books. Read the Bear books, act them out to music, eat, play games, and enjoy the celebration!

Editorial Reviews

It's been 25 years since these two talented men put their heads together, but the fruit of their latest collaboration is well worth the wait. Continuing in the spirit of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? , their new book incorporates the same clean design and crisp text, but this time the action takes place at the zoo, where elephants, hippos, lions and such are asked what they hear--each answer leads to the animal on the next page, and culminates with a zookeeper who ``hears'' a pageful of multiracial children disguised as their favorite animals. Carle's characteristically inventive, jewel-toned artwork forms a seamless succession of images that fairly leap off the pages, and educator Martin, ever tuned in to what children like best, has assembled a thoroughly rowdy menagerie--including a fluting flamingo, bellowing walrus and hissing boa constrictor, to name a few--imitations of whose sounds will doubtless soon be echoing in many homes and classrooms. A visually and aurally splashy work, this is a splendid successor to Brown Bear , one that no fan of that popular bruin will want to be without. Ages 2-4. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

PreS-Gr 1-- In a logical sensory follow-up to Martin's and Carle's wildly successful Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (Holt, 1983), this dynamic duo now offers sounds. The polar bear hears a lion roaring, who hears a hippopotamus snorting, who hears a flamingo fluting (!), who hears a zebra braying, and so on through a varied list of animals. At last the zookeeper announces that he hears children roaring, snorting, fluting, etc. While the format is very similar to the previous book, Carle's trademark collages have never been more beautiful. Huge animals fill the double-page spreads, glowing with light-filled colors, sans superflouous background. Teachers will smile with delight when they see this wonderful book, and students are sure to utter the familiar request, ``Have you got another one like this one?'' --Ruth Semrau, Lovejoy School, Allen, TX

School Library Journal

Teachers will smile with delight when they see this wonderful book, and students are sure to utter the familiar request, 'Have you got another one like this one?'” —School Library Journal, starred review

“A splendid successor to Brown Bear.” —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

When a children’s book has a reputation for being a classic, a narrator can be overshadowed by the material. Yet in this case, Gwyneth Paltrow narrates with a confidence and clarity that let the auditory clues and trademark animal collages take center stage. Her voice is steady and pauses regularly for contemplation of the story’s menagerie: a hissing snake, a bellowing walrus, and a whistling zookeeper who is followed by a bevy of costumed children. Listeners will surely want to join in with her animal voices. Background sound effects bring depth to the action, and children will love poring over the rich illustrations. A.R. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

NOVEMBER 2010 - AudioFile