Brown Bear, Brown Bear

From the time my children were about eight months old (or even younger), I read Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr & Eric Carle to them nearly every day.

We loved Carle’s depiction of the animals in Brown Bear, Brown Bear and we loved the lilting, rhyming rhythm of the book.  I’d classify it as a poem really.  The words and patterns repeat throughout the book – which infants, toddlers and preschoolers love.

Repetition for adults can get tiresome, as in “You want me to read what again?!”  But I always enjoyed reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear again and again.  Perhaps that was because I could recite it by heart, the older children could turn the pages, and I could close my eyes for a few moments while I ‘read’ to them.

(Don’t pretend you haven’t done the same thing!  Small children will take everything out of you!)

But perhaps I enjoy this book so much because poetry, unlike some stories, never gets old.

Other books in this series include: Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?; Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?; and Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See?