This is a realistic fiction about a teddy bear that travels all over the place, under the sea and through the air, and eventually ends up back home with baby after his adventure. It's a realistic fiction because stuffed animals can be lost and go through some tremendous things before they are located again. This would be a fun book for the classroom library for younger students. ( )

Gorgeous illustrations. Baby loses his teddy bear, thing after thing after thing pick up teddy and he has a grand adventure, in the end he makes his way back to baby. Very sweet, good interaction, great read aloud. ( )

Bear in the Air
by Susan Meyers, illustrated by Amy Bates
Abrams Books for Young Readers, 32p.
Hardcover picture book (rhyming story)
2010
birth to 5 years
Baby loses his beloved bear while out on a walk by the sea, but the bear finds his way back to baby, and has an amazing adventure under the sea and up in the air along the way. The rhyming couplets invite a soothing read-aloud, and a pattern of repeated phrases will engage young listeners. Illustrations are friendly and soft, evoking a somewhat nostalgic beach town scene. On some of the pages, the text curves and drops or rises, mimicking the bear's adventure - children will enjoy noticing and following the text. Another treat for young noticers is the cheerful red crab that follows the bear throughout the book.

Any child who has ever loved and lost a favorite toy will relate to this rhyming, cumulative tale of a teddy bear that goes astray. From the stroller, to the ocean, the beloved bear, in wide-eyed surprise, has the adventure of a lifetime,

"This is the man out sailing a boat, Who saw the bear drifting, barely afloat, Lowered a net, but though he took care, The net didn't hold and out slipped the bear,"

but ends up home, safe and sound. Softly sketched drawings are colored in warm pastels. Both bear and boy beg to be hugged! A short and comforting story.

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