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annabannana's review
I think C was a little young to really appreciate this imaginative book at 2 1/2 years old.
idgey's review
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5
snowelf's review
3.0
I was really predisposed to love this book but I didn't. I'll admit though that there's a lot of creativity in both the content and the imagery. I usually like wordless stories but this time I wasn't touched. The illustration style is very bold, and I'm sure many will be drawn to it, but I neither cared for the drawings nor the color palette. It's strange, because individually I fancy the colors used, it just didn't work for me. The story could have had more drama or depth, but it's geared towards really young kids, so we're not the target audience. My five year old was however both amused and delighted, but he won't pick it up again. I could compare the style of this book to some of [a:Kevin Henkes'|193|Kevin Henkes|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1257746190p2/193.jpg] stuff, he sometimes makes these odd choices with colors, such as in [b:My Garden|7149888|My Garden|Kevin Henkes|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1268853281s/7149888.jpg|7415051], [b:A Good Day|317813|A Good Day|Kevin Henkes|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1347261741s/317813.jpg|308607], [b:Old Bear|3429644|Old Bear|Kevin Henkes|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1347664012s/3429644.jpg|3470539], [b:Little White Rabbit|8471012|Little White Rabbit|Kevin Henkes|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348532050s/8471012.jpg|13335679]. Yet, I tend to think his books are brilliant, whereas in this one I didn't quite understand the choices made. Also, I'm not at all opposed to the pictures being more or less graphic, for instance I'm really fond of [b:Along a Long Road|9642660|Along a Long Road|Frank Viva|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1344270931s/9642660.jpg|14530106] and [b:A Trip to the Bottom of the World with Mouse|13414820|A Trip to the Bottom of the World with Mouse|Frank Viva|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1333581515s/13414820.jpg|18714281]. Anyway, I'm using a lot of words to attempt to describe where this book went wrong with me. Why would I care? Because, I was so longing to like it. This said, I will be glad to read more books by this author to try to change my mind. So, happily moving on to [b:Bunny Days|7386860|Bunny Days|Tao Nyeu|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1356095700s/7386860.jpg|9245957] and [b:Squid and Octopus Friends for Always|13447325|Squid and Octopus Friends for Always|Tao Nyeu|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1335676245s/13447325.jpg|18963846] ...
pwbalto's review
4.0
I'm not usually sucked in by the wordless beautiful magical dream journey type of picture book. I'm one of the few people I know who wasn't entranced by The House in the Night. Imagine a Night leaves me worse than cold. And I seem to remember some kind of flying magic bed book that made me actually groan.
But man, I love Wonder Bear. I love the wordless narrative - so simple that even a five-year-old can follow and predict, yet so subtle that his older brother will find repetitions and clues to the dream logic at work.
I love the technique - Tao Nyeu does some neat things with layering colors in her silk screen prints; I love the colors, and I love the style. The bulbous shapes, repeating patterns, and swirly clouds make me think of Central Asian and Siberian embroidery: simple shapes that gain strength through repetition. I'm totally going to steal some of her tree shapes for my niece's baby blanket.
This book has been given the high-class treatment by Dial. Lush, toothy paper, large size, and a dust jacket that is not merely a repeat of the book's cover. You can tell that someone on Hudson Street thinks this book is something special. For once, I really have to agree.
Plus: MONKEYS!
But man, I love Wonder Bear. I love the wordless narrative - so simple that even a five-year-old can follow and predict, yet so subtle that his older brother will find repetitions and clues to the dream logic at work.
I love the technique - Tao Nyeu does some neat things with layering colors in her silk screen prints; I love the colors, and I love the style. The bulbous shapes, repeating patterns, and swirly clouds make me think of Central Asian and Siberian embroidery: simple shapes that gain strength through repetition. I'm totally going to steal some of her tree shapes for my niece's baby blanket.
This book has been given the high-class treatment by Dial. Lush, toothy paper, large size, and a dust jacket that is not merely a repeat of the book's cover. You can tell that someone on Hudson Street thinks this book is something special. For once, I really have to agree.
Plus: MONKEYS!
shinychick's review
2.0
This reminds me of David Wiesner's wordless books. Great for one-on-one reading, not great for a storytime.
jennybeastie's review
5.0
I think Tao Nyeu may rapidly be becoming my favorite children's book author/illustrator of all time. Looking through the book, my response was to gasp in wonder on more than one occasion. Aptly titled, beautiful.