A Den Is a Bed for a Bear Book

Welcome to the snug world of bear dens. Kids will explore these intriguing places, and find our how, when, and why they are used. Then they’ll Zigzag through an adventure of discovery: if a den is a bed for a bear, what’s a bed for a tiger? Who else hibernates? Imagine a bear in your house...what would make it happy? Kids will come away knowing more than they think, and wanting to know even more!

Children's Literature

In this "Zigzag Book" from National Geographic Kids, young readers learn about bears , their dens and hibernation. The entire text consists of a mere 13 simple rhyming sentences. Additional information is presented in sidebar comments or drawings. The illustrations are color filled with very little white space. Backgrounds are in vivid shades of purple, orange, green, gold and blue, with different colors on each two-page spread. Even the sentences in the text are colorful. For example, in the sentence, " a den is a place a bear will go after a feast in the fall," the words will, go and feast are printed in gold while the other words in the sentence are white. Stressing the colored words as you read helps set the rhythm and rhyme scheme for the entire piece. On the final page readers follow a zigzag path of questions designed to get them thinking more about bears and hibernation. Ideal for early elementary classroom libraries, this book will also appeal to preschoolers who want to learn a little about bears while curling up in the lap of a caregiver. Reviewer: Pat Trattles