Archie and the Bear by Zanni Louise - ADVISABLE

Archie and the Bear by Zanni Louise, illustrated by David Mackintosh. PICTURE BOOK. Clarion Books (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), 2018. $18. 9781328973412

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE.

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Archie gets mad when people compliment his bear suit because he says he really is a bear. When Archie got tired of these comments, he headed into the woods where he met a bear dressed in a boy suit. They shared a sandwich and taught each other new skills, and when it got cold they went to Archie’s house for a warm quilt and a fire. 

This book is charming, but not terribly engaging. My kids were a little confused about who the book was referring to when it used the word “bear” - was it the boy who believes he is a bear or the bear who believes he is a boy. The theme of finding like minds in the world was successfully conveyed, but the plot to pad that was a bit uninteresting. 

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher