Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The animals of Four Seasons Wood are eagerly awaiting Christmas-except Little Bear, who always hibernates through the holiday. "What's the point in writing a letter to Santa Claus when he'll go straight past my door without leaving a present?" he asks gloomily. Swooping into action, Little Bear's friends arrange a surprise "Almost Christmas" celebration that cheers him right up. With only one or two lines each, the many characters (seven named animals, plus a bird that hangs around) don't get much personality, though their eagerness to bring the holidays to Little Bear is touching. Tibi's storytelling is a bit stuffy and demure ("That night in Four Seasons Wood a very happy Little Bear celebrated his first ever Christmas with all his special friends"), but Lambert's retro art, colored in pale blues and yellows, brings real style to the setting and cast. Up to age 5. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Less than a month away from Christmas, a group of woodland animals are walking through Four Seasons Woods discussing what they hope Santa will bring them. Sitting around a campfire roasting marshmallows, they share with each other what they plan to eat and how they plan to decorate their nests, caves, and burrows. All, that is, except for Little Bear, who tells the others "Christmas isn't for me; I'll be going to bed soon for my long winter's sleep, and once again I'll miss this magical time...." After he leaves, Billy the Badger suggests that the friends celebrate Christmas with Little Bear before he goes to hibernate-an Almost Christmas. The next morning, Big Deer invites Little Bear for a walk, and the other animal friends rush to Little Bear's cave to decorate for the party. When Little Bear returns, he is surprised and happy to celebrate his first Christmas with all his special friends. The illustrations of the adorable animals are reminiscent of the work by Little Golden Book illustrators Gustaf Tenggren and Richard Scarry. VERDICT This simple story of friendship and giving is a sweet choice for any holiday read-aloud collection. The warm illustrations make this great for sharing during storytimes.-Diane Olivo-Posner, Los Angeles Public Library © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
All the woodland animals are looking forward to Christmas except one. After all, Little Bear will be hibernating through Christmas, so "what's the point" in decorating or writing a letter to Santa, especially since "he'll go straight past my door without leaving a present?" Little Bear, a small, fuzzy, blue creature with prodigious eyebrows, trudges home alone. Understanding his blues, his friends work together in secret to make him an Almost Christmas celebration. Big Deer takes Little Bear off for a walk while the others prepare his house, and when he sees what they've done, he is thrilled. The illustrations in this slight story, a French import with uncredited translation, are stronger than the plotting, which struggles to spread a thin storyline over its 40 pages. But it's hard not to warm to these cartoony, anthropomorphic critters. In an early double-page spread they sit around a fire toasting marshmallows, Big Deer especially humorous in an ugly sweater with Rudolph on the front and a red hunter's cap with ear flaps perched between his antlers. And the spread in which Little Bear's friends greet him holding a "Merry Almost Christmas" banner with identically wide eyes and beaming smiles is hard not to love. Illustrations lift this warm tale of friendship. (Picture book. 3-5) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
