The Valentine Bears - Picture Book

The Valentine Bears
Written by Eve Bunting
Illustrated by Jan Brett
(Scholastic Inc., 1983)

Reading The Valentine Bears aloud for children is fun for both the reader and the listener.

Mr. and Mrs. Bear are hibernating for the winter. Mrs. Bear is very sad that they always miss Valentines Day, which happens during their long sleep. But not this year. She decides to wake up early and surprise Mr. Bear on Valentines Day. But who really gets surprised?

Reality and make-believe mix together in this cute holiday book. Bears really do hibernate and eat all sorts of things suggested in the book. But they don't really wear clothes or celebrate holidays. The Valentine Bears is the perfect way to begin a discussion about animals - fiction and nonfiction.

KID KANDY:

Mrs. Bear wrote two Valentine poems for Mr. Bear. She used the Roses are red, violets are blue poem as her pattern. Reread her poems for Mr. Bear.

Choose an animal and brainstorm words that come to mind. Make a big list.

Use the format for Roses are Red to make up your own poems. Use silly words and rhyming words. It's all in fun. Rhyming is an important skill for preschool, kindergarten, and first graders.

For example:

Animal - DOG

Brainstorm - furry, slobbery, teeth, tail, wagging, jumping, bark, eat, sleep, digging, muddy, hairy, smelly

Roses are red, Violets are blue,
The dog is hairy, and so are you!

OR

Doggies are smelly, They jump so high,
Mud is their favorite, I wonder why?

Provide crayons and paper so your child can draw pictures about their silly poem.


Angie Quantrell loves using silly words in her writing. She loves animals and spends lots of time watching her crazy kitties make messes in the house.