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The Great Bear (2011)

by Libby Gleeson(Favorite Author)

3.47 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0763651362 (ISBN13: 9780763651367)

languge

English

genre

Middle Grade & Children's

publisher

Candlewick Press

review 1: Two heart-wrenching stories intertwine through rushed, naked pencil sketches of the title character opposite angry, dark and demanding of her before dream conquers captivity and the bear breaks free.This is a BEAUTIFUL book, and my 32-words-or-less annotation will never do it justice.Based upon a dream the author had several years before publication, and with expert author/illustrator collaboration, this exquisite, half-wordless picture book presents the heart-wrenching tale of an abused circus bear and her escape. The illustrations, simultaneously dream-like and realistic have undertones of medieval art and place - the setting is clearly unmodern, yet at the same time could be – and, of course, Van Gogh’s Starry Night. Verso pages contain both the text and simple char... morecoal drawings of the bear, humble, drudging, and captive; these drawings increase in size, intensity, color and complexity as the bear’s pain and anger at her captors and audience grows. The wordless, earthy pastel bled-edge recto pages provide the bear’s perspective. Separating these two sections of the story is a powerful choice; at the story’s climax, this separation shatters as the bear takes hold of her own story. After the circus travels and stops for a performance, the bear’s monotonous, dreary, caged existence is irritated as she is poked with sticks, hit with rocks, and screamed at to dance by a crude, cruel, demanding, and angry crowd At the climax of this overwhelming, abusive sham of a circus performance, the simple charcoal bear bursts free of both the pages and her chains with a tremendous roar – frightening her tormentors away as she storms throughout the circus. The remainder of the book continues without words, as the newly empowered bear, illustrated here with softer browns, scales a flagpole and flies away into a star-twinkling sky sky reminiscent of Van Gogh’s Starry Night. The simple, sparse text is the background of this story; its illustrations perfectly capturing the experience of the bear using dual perspectives are the real viscera of the picture book. Though for an older audience, the messages easily gleaned provide an incredible base point for discussion; theme, emotion and tone positively pour off each page.
review 2: 2.5 actually for me. I like the story: a cruelly treated circus bear finally manages to stand up for herself and flees into the heavens to become Ursa Major. I also like the metaphor for freedom of living and dignity. The art I didn't actually car for. I understand that it is a bleaker topic than most kids picture books, but the art is soooo dark. The villagers eyes are soooo creepy. I wouldn't have liked this one as a child. less

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