Middle Bear by Susanna Isern - OPTONAL

Isern, Susanna  Middle Bear  Illustrated by Mnon Gauthier  PICTURE BOOK  Kids Can Press, 2017.  $16.99  Content: G.  

This is about the middle bear in a family of five.  He is the middle brother, so everything he does has to do with him not being the oldest or the youngest.  When his parents get sick, Middle Bear and his brothers have to go to the top of a mountain to retrieve the medicine.  Because of his size Middle Bear is the only brother able to complete the task and he decides that he likes being in the middle.  

This might be a good story to share with the middle child of the family who sometimes feels like it is not fun being in the middle.  The illustrations are bleak, dreary and dark in color making them unappealing.  Because of the illustrations I feel like most kids would pass this book by and the story is good enough, but not enough to overcompensate for the illustrations.  

EL (K-3) – OPTIONAL.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.