If you loved reading I Love You Forever to your youngster you must read Calico Bear. It follows the life of a bear from one generation to the next. It touches a mother's heart and just might bring a tear to your eye. A must for any mother!

Though the work is forty years old, Storer and Tevis remains a valuable sourcebook for those wishing to understand the full nature of an extinction. It's all here: bear biology, relationships with Indians, relationships with Spaniards, stories of famous California Grizzlies, the ~real~ life and time of Grizzly Adams, and more. Whether you are a biologist, a historian, or just an armchair wildlife enthusiast, you will find California Grizzly a fascinating and necessary book.

Little Bear is afraid of the dark. He tries and tries to go to sleep, but he just can't. To stop Little Bear being scared, Big Bear sets a tiny lantern next to Little Bear's bed. But the tiny lantern only lights up a small part of the cave, and there is still lots of dark. So, Big Bear brings out a bigger lantern. Still, Little Bear is not satisfied, and Big Bear is forced to bring out the Biggest Lantern of Them All. After some time though, Little Bear has not fallen asleep. "Can't you sleep, Little Bear?" asks Big Bear for the fourth time. When Little Bear points to the darkness outside, Big Bear is puzzled. How can Big Bear show Little Bear that there is nothing to be afraid of?
This is one of my favorite short stories. It certainly deserves all 5 stars.

Researchers constantly find that reading to children is valuable in a variety of ways, not least of which are instilling a love of reading and improved reading skills. With better parent-child bonding from reading, your child will also be more emotionally secure and able to relate better to others. Intellectual performance will expand as well. Spending time together watching television fails as a substitute.

To help other parents apply this advice, as a parent of four I consulted an expert, our youngest child, and asked her to share with me her favorite books that were read to her as a young child. The Care Bears and the Whale Tale was one of her picks.

In this story, Mr. Berman's class goes to the beach every Tuesday after school and cleans up plastic litter left behind by the high tide. The plastic could hurt sea creatures if they eat it or get caught in it. So the children are doing important work. Naturally, the beach is also nicer for the people to use. Fortunately, there's usually time for fun, too! This may include kite flying.

The children become acquainted with Captain Jenks who used to run a fishing boat before he retired. He introduces the children to his favorite whale, Emma, who has been visiting for 30 years.

One day the children spot Emma trapped by a net on a sand bar! The children get Captain Jenks to help. He sends the Care Bears to tell Emma that aid is on the way. Captain Jenks then calls the Coast Guard who alerts the volunteers who specialize in beach strandings. Tenderheart, the Care Bear, gets Emma to be quiet, and Captain Jenks cuts the net. Emma is saved!

One of the many positive attributes of this story is the way that it creates examples of things that children can do to be meaningful contributors to others. You can obviously discuss how cleaning up trash is also a good thing to do in other public places. It's also amazing how good it can make you feel. I remember throwing away large amounts of newspapers I had found on the ground after a presidential inauguration, and feeling very virtuous as a result.

Many children will never have seen a whale, and this can stimulate an interest in that subject. If you are like me, you never saw a whale you didn't like. I have often taken my daughter whale watching, which is probably an important part of her liking for this book. I hope that you will take your children, as well. We have wonderful whale grounds off of Gloucester, Boston, and Provincetown in Massachusetts. You can also go from Plymouth. The whales are generally here from May through October.

My main concern about the book is that it has young children (in 2nd grade) visiting Captain Jenks' home without asking a teacher or parent first, and with no other adult present. That's not such a great example. I suggest that you explain what your child should be do in a similar circumstance to counter this example.

If your child likes this book, I suggest that you write a short story about how you and your child can do a good deed together. That will help generate even more bonding and intellectual development. If your child is too young to do the writing, you can be the scribe and take her or his dictation. Then, go do the good deed together. That will help your child understand the links among writing, reading, and taking action.

Have fun together and improve the world in your own way for us all!

This was one of my favorite books as a child. At one time I had the entire collection, but somehow they magically disappeared over time. This would be a great collection to have once again. This book is essential to the collection. I remember reading this book night after night until I had the entire book down by heart. Truely a work of art.

This was one of my favorite books as a child. At one time I had the entire collection, but somehow they magically disappeared over time. This would be a great collection to have once again. This book is essential to the collection. I remember reading this book night after night until I had the entire book down by heart. Truely a work of art.

I am so happy to find this audiobook again! I played it in the car for my oldest daughter to calm her when she was a baby. Carly Simon's language and voice is soothing and musical to the ear. I need it again now because my oldest daughter is now 8, and is learning to write using "descriptive language". Carly Simon's writing for these stories is so vivid that my daughters and I feel like we are the little bear who cannot sleep because the moon is full and the breeze is coming in through our window and we just must listen to music and dance, we feel like the boy running up the bell tower for the first time to ring the bells welcoming Santa to the town called Noel because his old grandfather is too tired to continue the tradition today- the glorious bells cheers the boy's saddened sister. In the third story we feel like the maiden living with a sailor on a faraway island where life moves rythmically like the tides (my cousin disliked this story because the maid and the fisherman are not married and he leaves her to return to the sea-my two girls (age 5 & 8) are so enthralled by Carly Simon's voice and words that they don't even think about this issue). Do not pass up the chance to introduce your children to what beautiful wrirting sounds like when read by a musician like Carly Simon.

The reason I really liked "Carving Bears and Bunnies" by Tom Wolfe, was the step-by-step instructions and color photographs.As a beginner they really helped me to get the proportions right on the carvings. I really enjoyed this book of Tom Wolfe's and I am hoping to get some other ones of his.

Whether or not you are familiar with the Grecian mileu, I warmly recommend this collection of Joy Stocke's poetry that were inspired during a visit to the island of Crete. Joy's words and expressions are as classically elegant as Grecian columns. Moreover, any one -- if not all -- of her works will touch a chord in your heart. Reading this book will delight your soul as well as stimulate your mind.

This was the most enjoyable Goldilocks I have ever read. It is short yet tells the whole story, with expression and the sweetest pictures,with wonderful details.