Little+Bear's+New+Friend

Lauren Rollins

Written by Muriel Pepin Adopted by Deborah Kovacs Illustrated by Marcelle Geneste
 * __Little Bear’s New Friend__**

Original Publication Date: August 1, 1992 Publisher: Reader’s Digest ISBN: 0895774178 Hardcover Price: $3.99 Type of book: Fiction  Muriel Pepin has written two books, //Little Bear’s New Friend// and //Little Puppy Saves the Day.// Deborah Kovacs, who adapted the book,
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//Little Bear’s New Friend // is about a baby bear who decides to wander out during the winter while his family is sleeping because he cannot fall asleep. The little bear had never seen snow before and was so excited to play in it that he wandered off without realizing it and got lost. He was scared and could not find his way back when he met a little wolf cub. The baby wolf told him he would help him look for his cave to get back to his mother but first he wanted to play tag with the baby bear. The two became friends and they played together for quite some time. The little bear was having so much fun with his new friend that he had forgotten all about finding his cave and going back home. The Mother bear ends up waking up and worries when she sees that her cub is missing; when she starts to venture out to find her baby she runs into the Mother wolf and at first they scowl and bare their teeth at one another until they see hunter’s coming towards them. Both the Mother’s decide to help each other find their missing babies in hopes of finding them faster. They end up finding the bear cub and wolf cub curled up sleeping in the den with the other bear cubs.
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//Little Bear’s New Friend // is a fantastic book to use in the classroom. For the younger ages it is a perfect story to read to them and teach them about friendship. This book can show them how even though these animals were so different they were able to become friends and have fun together. It also depicts how the Mother’s worked together realizing that by helping each other they would be able to help themselves. This can bring about a great conversation on team work and how productive it can be to work with one another. I thought this book was wonderful and I would definitely find it useful when doing a lesson on friendship and working together.
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The theme is a significant element to the story //Little Bear’s New Friend.// The theme is working together and overcoming differences. This book shows how two different animals can still become friends and have fun; it also shows how two can work together to achieve what they want faster when working together. Both of these elements to the theme can be relatable to a classroom full of students. This book shows how differently the two cubs interact with each other and the two mothers when first meeting. The two baby cubs were kind to each other and that in turn helped the baby bear instantly forget about being frightened that he was lost. The two mother’s were mean to each other and did not want to help one another; they realized after seeing the hunter’s that this was not a productive way to be if they wanted to find their babies fast. Muriel Pepin wanted to stress the idea of cooperation between two different creatures and how it is better to overcome differences; the author even used the line “Together they worked much faster than they could have on their own.” This book clearly depicts how teamwork and overcoming differences helps the situation and made both the baby cubs and mother bear and wolf happier. This analysis of theme is so beneficial to children because it is easily relatable. Every classroom is full of children who are unique from one another; this book helps to show them how much better it is to embrace each other’s differences and come together.
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