Bear Goes Shopping: A Guessing Game Story Book

To market, to market, with a happy little bear. Every day, Bear visits a different store to buy something new. What does he want today? When Bear says where he's going, kids can try to guess. On Monday, it's the bakery. Will he get a bright red apple, a pretty bird, a pair of shoes, or two luscious cherry-topped cupcakes? Not only will this charmingly illustrated tale teach toddlers about many kinds of stores, it helps kids learn the days of the week too.

Mary Hynes-Berry - Children's Literature

At first glance, this "Guessing-Game Story" seems pretty formulaic. Fold-out pages hide the answer to each question about what Bear will shop for on each day of the week—except for Sunday when Bear, in a great tradition, rests. However, Arnold Lobel's warm illustrations give the book a cozy appeal that is likely to make toddlers through preschoolers happy to return to it again and again. At the same time, Ziefert's text builds in the kind of interactive talk that is critical for both language and literacy development. Monday's page says, "Bear is going to the bakery. What will he buy? Can you guess?" Clearly demarcated boxes underneath show an apple, a bird, shoes and two cupcakes. When the page showing Bear going into the store is folded out, the picture shows the correct answer while the text models the kind of expanded answer children should be encouraged to give: "I'll take one cupcake home to Mama, and I'll eat my cupcake now." In the hands of talented professionals like Ziefert and Lobel, even formulas take on a life that makes the book worth revisiting. 2005, Sterling Publishing, Ages 3 to 6.