Bear finds some roots to eat, but that's not enough. He wants more. With his friends' help, he finds some berries, clover, and fish to eat, but that's not enough. Bear wants more.

How Bear's friends help him to finally satisfy his HUGE hunger in a most surprising way will enchant young readers. Karma Wilson's rhythmic text and Jane Chapman's vibrant illustrations make "Bear Wants More" a perfect springtime read-aloud.

Bear Wants More is a book your little one can grow up with, as there is so much to learn! A steady flowing cadence of rhyming couplets and repetition helps your child follow along and learn the story quickly. The shorter sentences and mixture of different length words are perfect for learning to read when they are ready. The bring colors of the painted pictures are attractive and show many recognizable forest animals with a few new ones included like the gopher, badger, or wren.

An interesting subtlety of "Bear Wants More" is the inclusion of sign language. On the majority of pages when Bear is telling his forest friends that he is still hungry, they are cupping their hands and placing their fingers together in the ASL sign for 'more'. This is not explained in the story, so pointing this out to your little one and encouraging them to use it may provide them with another way to communicate to you in everyday life when they just can't find the right words. Your child will love hearing your voices for the different animals, and joining in the repeated line, "but the bear wants more!" You can speak with your little one about what good friends Bear has, as they all chip in to help him find food, and ultimately throw him a surprise party. Or you can play the game "What would YOU feed bear?" encouraging their creativity.

I read this book to my three-year-old friend, Sam, who is already familiar with some basic sign language and copied the animals doing the 'more' sign each time he noticed it. He thought the bear's honey cakes were chocolate chip cookies, so we ended up making cookies after reading the book so Sam could eat like the bear. He smiled and shouted, "Bear wants more" before diving in to his own cookie.

--Audra