Something's Wrong!: A Bear, a Hare, and Some Underwear

by Jory John, Erin Kraan (Illustrator)

Overview

A hilarious picture book from #1 New York Times–bestselling author of The Bad Seed, Jory John, paired with the #1 New York Times-bestselling illustrator of Buffalo Fluffalo, Erin Kraan, about a bear whose friends help him make it through a bad day!

Oh-no. Jeff the bear has definitely forgotten something.

He ate his breakfast, he watered his plant, he combed his fur…what could it be? Why does he feel so oddly off?? He asks his friend Anders the rabbit what could possibly be wrong. It couldn't have anything to do with the fact that he's wearing underwear…over his fur...could it?

Something's Wrong! is another read-out-loud, laugh-out-loud picture book from bestselling and beloved author Jory John, about that horrible nagging feeling that it just might not be your day—but you know you have a friend to support you no matter what.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780374313883
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	03/23/2021
Series:	A Bear and Hare Book
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD530L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Jory John is a #1 New York Times–bestselling author of books for both children and adults. His previous collaboration with Erin Kraan was the popular picture book, Something’s Wrong! His work also includes the New York Times–bestselling picture books The Good Egg and The Bad Seed; the award-winning Goodnight Already! series; the popular picture books This Book Will Get You to Sleep!, Penguin Problems, and Giraffe Problems. He lives in the Pacific Northwest.

Erin Kraan is the illustrator of several picture books, including #1 New York Times-bestseller, Buffalo Fluffalo by Bess Kalb, The Bear and Hare series by Jory John, and I Am Picky: Confessions of a Fussy Eater and I Am Friendly: Confessions of a Helpful Bear by Kristen Tracy. She creates her illustrations using a combination of woodcut prints, gouache paint and digital collage. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Editorial Reviews

01/25/2021

Jeff, an absentminded bear, has left his house forgetting that he’s wearing a pair of tighty-whities gifted to him by his grandmother. He senses that something isn’t right (“Just be cool, man. Play it cool”), a sneaking suspicion that’s confirmed by the shocked looks of his fellow forest animals. But no one will speak up—to Jeff, that is. The animals have no qualms turning to the reader and exclaiming, “Why is that bear wearing underwear?” It’s a classic nightmare scenario, one that happily turns into a tribute to friendship when the still-clueless Jeff seeks out best buddy Anders, a rabbit, who lays it all out (“Could it be that you left your house wearing underwear?”) and then deftly helps him recover from his mortification. Jeff’s increasingly desperate attempts at nonchalance (“I love nice weather. LOVE it. It’s cool to be warm. Ha ha”) and Anders’s confiding reassurances and quick thinking make all-dialogue text by John (It’s Not My Fault!) a gift for the readaloud set. He’s capably abetted by debut illustrator Kraan, whose textural earth-toned vignettes are gems of comic panic, dismay, and redemption. Ages 3–6. Illustrator’s agent: Kirsten Hall, Catbird Agency. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"John’s text perfectly pitches the jokes to a strong conclusion at just the right pace while Kraan’s energetic illustrations, with hardly a straight line in the entire book, add to the sense of ultimately harmless cringe. The book is also a clever primer on handling embarrassment and how it can sometimes be dealt with by simply changing the perspective of what’s happening. . .This underwear affair is wise, witty, and just brief enough.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“This is a wonderful example of illustration adding further to a very funny text . . . Expect hilarity to ensue wherever underwear stories are a hit with the add-on bonus of this being a great title for discussions on the topic of ­allyship.” —School Library Journal, starred review

“A tribute to friendship. . .Anders’s confiding reassurances and quick thinking make all-dialogue text by John a gift for the readaloud set. He’s capably abetted by debut illustrator Kraan, whose textural earth-toned vignettes are gems of comic panic, dismay, and redemption.” —Publishers Weekly

“Terrifically amusing. . .Block-print illustrations offer intricate lines and textures, and the solid, grounded art offers an effective steadiness in the face of Jeff’s increasing panic. This could be paired with any number of underwear books, or it could just serve as a reminder that the best kind of friend always has your back.” —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

“Don’t let the giddy goofiness of an underwear-driven plot fool you; this is as whip-smart and linguistically sophisticated as the rest of John’s terrific body of work. The ongoing joke of breaking the fourth wall of the book is clever, interactive, and well executed, culminating in a wonderful two-page wordless spread that captures the mounting tension of the moment. The story is strongly supported by Balzer’s richly textured and slightly off-kilter collection of creatures, featuring the most adorably rounded tighty-whitey-clad bear buns you’ve ever seen.” —Booklist

From the Publisher

★ 04/01/2021

PreS-Gr 3—The dreaded "I'm out in public only wearing my underwear!" dream comes true for a bear one day and he just doesn't realize why all the other animals in the forest are giving him such strange looks. What sets this gag into a much higher realm of storytelling is the lesson in friendship readers are given when the bear's friend Anders struggles openly with his reaction and then comes to boldly support his friend. Using woodcut prints and digital techniques, Kraan depicts the characters as charming in their puzzlement and hilarious in their underwear. This a wonderful example of illustration adding further to a very funny text. VERDICT Expect hilarity to ensue wherever underwear stories are a hit with the add-on bonus of this being a great title for discussions on the topic of allyship.—John Scott, Friends Sch. of Baltimore

School Library Journal

★ 2020-12-25
A chatty bear causes a stir in the forest by leaving the house in an embarrassing pair of white underwear.

When Jeff the bear runs down a checklist of things to do before leaving the cottage in the morning, one big item is forgotten: taking off the tighty whities that Grandma sent. As Jeff encounters pal after pal (none of whom wear underwear, nor indeed any human clothing), the bear has a sense that something is very wrong. But what could it be? Finally, after many animals break the fourth wall to ask readers, “Why is that bear wearing underwear?” Jeff goes to a rabbit friend named Anders who explains. And while there’s a huge moment of awkwardness when all the animals show up, Anders and Jeff are able to seize the moment. The underpinnings of this charming picture book are already strong (underwear is inherently funny), and the babbling small talk Jeff engages in while trying to figure out what’s wrong adds a lot to the increasingly silly situation (“Am I right or am I right? I think I’m right”). John’s text perfectly pitches the jokes to a strong conclusion at just the right pace while Kraan’s energetic illustrations, with hardly a straight line in the entire book, add to the sense of ultimately harmless cringe. The book is also a clever primer on handling embarrassment and how it can sometimes be dealt with by simply changing the perspective of what’s happening. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-17-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

This underwear affair is wise, witty, and just brief enough. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews