By: Kim Sponaugle,
on 7/2/2015
Welcome to day 7. For this last day of Children’s Book Week 2014, Kid Lit Reviews presents Capstone, a dynamic publisher well-known for their children’s books. Yesterday, Chronicle Books sponsored Lately Lily: The Adventures of a Travelling Girl. There is still time to win Lately Lily, or any of the other prizes showcased this week.. Today, Capstone presents Bear’s Big Bottom by Steve Smallman & Emma Yarlett. To WIN this hilarious new picture book LEAVE A COMMENT! Then, CLICK HERE for EXTRA ENTRIES! And as an extra bonus, Capstone is offering Lost Little Penguin to three winners! Kidlit is such a generous genre.
Now, KLR present’s Bear’s Big Bottom!
.
.
by Steve Stallman & Emma Yarlett
Capstone Young Readers 2/1/2014
978-1-62370-119-2
Age 4 to 8 32 pages
.
“Bear was friendly / Bear was sweet / The nicest bear you’d ever meet! / With little paws and little feet / And a very BIG bear bottom!
Poor Bear! His bottom is causing chaos…Bump! Crash! Splat! Soon Bear is in great big trouble! Can he ever make it up to his friends? A hilarious story of bottoms, bears, and animal friends that will have children giggling at Bear’s bottom-based mishaps. From children’s favourite Steve Smallman, author of Smelly Peter, the Great Pea Eater and The Monkey with A Bright Blue Bottom.”
The Story
Bear was your average bear. He was big and his friends could find him most anywhere. The only thing unusual about Bear was the size of his bottom. Bear’s bottom was so BIG . . . he completely filed the couch, squishing his friends. Bear’s bottom was so BIG . . . he jumped into the pool and the water all flew out. Then one day, Bear’s bottom was so BIG . . . it smashed a birthday cake and ruined the day. Bear felt so sad he ran away. Bear wouldn’t ruin anything else. Bear’s friends tried to find him, but all they found was a very hungry fox. If they didn’t find Bear soon, the fox would eat all of their bottoms.
Review
I like Bear’s Big Bottom. Bear is a nice bear and has some nice friends who are tolerant of his big bottom, until his big bottom breaks the camel’s birthday cake. It was actually squirrel’s cake, but the point is, they couldn’t take Bear’s big bottom anymore and told his just that. Not exactly nice of Bear’s friends to say what they said, but sometimes patience runs thin. Any kid who is different, for any reason, understands Bear’s plight. Good friends will tolerate your differences, but even good friends have a breaking point, not usually all at the same time, which is what helps keep a group of friends together.
I like that the group conscious got the better of Bear’s friends and they went looking for him. Conflict must ensue in a good story and so enters the fox, ready to eat their bottoms. The group of friends need Bear’s help. Do you think bear went to help? Bear is a good friend. Good friends stick up for each other, especially if picked on by someone outside of their group.
Originally published in Great Britain by Little Tiger Press (2013), Bear’s Big Bottom came to America and Capstone written in English. I was surprised to learn that an entire verse was changed. In the U.S. the verse reads:
In fact, Bear’s bottom was so wide
it filled the couch from side to side!
“We’re getting squished!” Bear’s friends all cried.
“Because of Bear’s big bottom!”
The original verse, as written by Steve Smallman, the author, reads:
“But when they tried to watch TV
Bear’s bottom filled the whole settee
And no one could sit comfortably
Because of Bear’s big bottom!”
I’m guessing the problem word is “settee,” meaning a sofa. It’s too bad those who made this decision where shortsighted in thinking no one would understand a settee is a sofa, upon which one sets their bottom. What happened to looking up unknown words, expanding one’s vocabulary, using a dictionary? Do kids no longer do any of those things? Beside the change for settee’s sake, the verse went from an original rhyme scheme (TV, settee, comfortably), to an easy scheme (wide, side, cried). Personally, I much prefer the original verse. The words are punchy (“pop-pop-pop-pop!”), like all the other verses.
Bear’s Big Bottom is a terrific book for anyone who is different or has a “different” friend. Some differences, like a big bottom, should not make friends go away. Everyone is different in some way; just not all are as obvious, or as intrusive, as Bear’s BIG bottom. Most people like being around others like themselves, not someone who is different. The animals show that being with someone different may, one day, save your bottom. This hilarious, brightly illustrations show wide-eyed animals often in spreads running full width. The cockeyed ending will tickle funny bones. Your little one may want you to reread Bear’s Big Bottom from the top. Let the author help. His reading of Bear’s Big Bottom is hilariously entertaining, but then, these are his characters.
BEAR’S BIG BOTTOM. Tex copyright © 2013 by Steve Smallman. Illustrations copyright © 2013 by Emma Yarlett. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Capstone Young Readers, North Mankato, MN.
Buy Bear’s Big Bottom at Amazon
Learn more about Bear’s Big Bottom HERE
Meet the author, Steve Smallman, at his website:
Meet the illustrator, Emma Yarlett, at her website: http://www.emmayarlett.com/
Find more books at the Capstone website: http://www.capstoneyoungreaders.com/
Capstone Young Readers is an imprint of Capstone.
.
Also by Steve Smallman
Big, Bad Owl
Dr Duck
.
.
.
.
.
Also by Emma Yarlett
Orion and the Dark
My Daddy’s Going Away
.
.
.
.
.
This is it. The LAST DAY you can ENTER TO WIN Bear’s Big Bottom or any of the other prizes seen this week, by LEAVING A COMMENT. In addition to all the those prizes, Capstone is also giving away Lost Little Penguin
“When Plip the penguin loses his favorite toy, it seems like the end of the world! As the sky grows dark, Plip runs off to find it, all on his own. What will become of poor little Plip, out in the snowy storm?”
So let’s recap one final time. Here is what YOU CAN WIN! — How to Enter? LEAVE A COMMENT and then CLICK HERE for EXTRA ENTRIES!
AND,
.
.
Lost Little Penguin – from Capstone Books, by Tracey Corderoy.
.
WIN Bear’s Big Bottom by LEAVING A COMMENT below this review. For additional entries, and MORE CHANCES TO WIN Lost Little Penguin, and other wonderful children’s books, CLICK HERE TO WIN!
.
Terms and Conditions HERE
.
Add a Comment
By: Marissa,
on 9/11/2013
This week's book of the week is BULLY by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (also the author of Green).
5 Stars When a Dragon Moves In Jodi Moore Howard McWilliam 23 Pages Ages: 4 to 8 ........ .......... Inside Jacket: If you build a perfect sandcastle, a dragon will move in—and that’s exactly what happens to one very lucky boy on the beach. The boy and his dragon brave the waves, roast marshmallows, roam [...]
4 Stars We're All Different But We're All Kitty Cats Peter Goodman Nicholas Milano No. Pages: 4 Ages: 4+ ................... Inside Jacket: “My name is Carlos and I have no fur.” A kitty with no fur? How strange, thought the other cat, laughing and giggling at Carlos. Hurt and embarrassed in front of the class, [...]
By: Anastasia Goodstein,
on 4/13/2012
Spotify is adding brand apps to its streaming service which means that major companies (will soon be able to suggest playlists. AT&T, Reebok, Intel, and McDonald’s are among the first to create such apps, and by entering the music space,... Read the rest of this post
By: Anastasia Goodstein,
on 4/4/2012
We chatted with Naomi Hirabayashi and Chloe Lee at DoSomething about their new anti-bullying effort — a bullying census on Facebook tied with the release of the documentary “Bully.” They’re hoping not only to get an accurate picture of... Read the rest of this post
By: Anastasia Goodstein,
on 3/27/2012
Facebook gets back to its roots — students — with its latest feature (called “Groups for Schools.” The feature allows university students to create groups that are only visible to students with official university email addresses.... Read the rest of this post
By: Tara Lazar,
on 2/28/2012
I was bullied as a teen. As an adult, I’ve come to realize almost everyone has been bullied as a child, so of course, now I feel more “normal”. But at the time, I was terrified. The girls who tormented me rode on my bus and would incessantly scream obscenities at me. When I walked off the bus, they would throw things out the window, spit at me, and call me horrible names (some of which I didn’t even know the meaning). I was pushed and shoved and made to feel worthless.
The movie “Bully” seeks to shed light on the mean boys and girls and start a meaningful dialogue between students, teachers and parents affected by bullying. However, the Motion Picture Association of America recently rated the movie “R” so it cannot be screened in schools, the one place it could really make an impact.
Like Seth Myers and Amy Poehler, I want to ask, “Really?!?”
Please watch the trailer and then sign a change.org petition by teenager Katy Butler asking the MPAA to give “Bully” a PG-13 rating.
As a footnote, I recently learned that the girl who led the bullying against me has been in jail for years. Karma? No. I think she needed more help than I did. Let’s remember that the bullies may be going through difficult times at home and their anger is an outlet and a call for help.
Thanks so much for reading.
4 STARS Phillip Isaac Penn, who goes by the nickname “PIP,” shares a week of his error prone life where he seems to hear his name as more of a shout than anything else. He awakes to the sounds of his mother calling out, “Pip!” Then dad chimes in with “Pip.” And then sister yells [...]
By: Maryann Yin,
on 5/5/2011
Inspired by Minnesota House majority leader Matt Dean‘s attack on author Neil Gaiman, Twitter sensation Evil Wylie created a web comic based on famous Charles Atlas ads.
Earlier this week, Dean criticized Minnesota’s House Legacy Funding Division for paying the novelist for a speaking engagement. The legislator called the author “pencil-necked little weasel who stole $45,000 from the state of Minnesota.”
Above, we’ve embedded Wylie’s complete comic. What do you think?
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Add a Comment
Invisible Inkling by Emily Jenkins Hank Wolowitz, please call him Wolowitz, lives with his sister and parents in an apartment above their Brooklyn ice cream shop called the “Big Round Pumpkin: Ice Cream for a Happy World.” His best friend Wainscotting has moved to Iowa City leaving Wolowitz feeling alone. It doesn’t help that Wolowitz [...]
By: Kimberly Pauley,
on 11/24/2010
Tod Munn is in trouble. Big trouble. So what's he done? He takes kids' money. He breaks kids' glasses. He makes kids scared. Tod's a smart mouth with grown-ups, but even worse, he's just too smart for his own gang. After they all get caught, Tod has a choice: Juvenile Detention, or daily detention after school with Mrs. Woodrow. His punishment is to scrawl his thoughts and feelings in a composition notebook. His gang's punishment is to pick up trash from the school grounds. Tensions rise as the stakes get higher. Can the power of words free Tod from the terrible cycle he is in? To read more, click here.
.jpeg?picon=3239)
By: Angela Cater,
on 3/22/2010
Review 
By: Charles Hodgson,
on 2/25/2010
iTunes users can subscribe to this podcast 
Knowing what I know—that the word bulldozer is supposed to have evolved from the brute force of beating someone up, this brute force seen as worthy of having an effect on a bull—it makes sense that the word bully might come from a similar bovine source.
But it doesn’t.
It actually seems to come from the opposite end of the love-hate spectrum.
When the word bully first appeared in English it didn’t mean the type of person for which school anti-bullying programs were designed. Instead, someone you were very very fond of might be someone you would call a bully.
The thinking is that before its 1538 emergence into English the word had been Dutch.
The Dutch word I see translated as “sweetheart” and “lover.”
Domestic violence aside, that’s a long way from the meaning we think of.
How it made the leap from someone who makes you want to cuddle to someone who makes you cringe isn’t really known but there are a few enticing clues.
Most of the sources I consulted simply describe a gradual change from a darling person, to a good friend, to a good person, to someone who puts on a good face, and finally someone who threatens to put something covered in knuckles on your face.
There is that bull/bulldozer idea that might have had an influence.
But there is also the fact that for a while the good friend/lover meaning leant the word bully as a term for “pimp.”
Though the dictionaries don’t make any connections in this regard it seems to me that a pimp can simultaneously play the role of good-friend and tough-guy/enforcer.
Even people who, as an adult, may make you angry… realize they are suffering. There are no villains (mostly). Just some people are more “in the matrix” than the rest of us. I think for everyone realizing this is powerful. : )
Done! Thanks for making me aware of this, Tara!
This is a film worth promoting, Tara, thanks.
Would be nice if we could rate actuall bullying X – for “un-X-eptable”
Bullying is not a “stage” that kids go through – it is violence plain and simple. But look at some of the parents and you see why kids act/react the way they do.
I , too, was bullied .. briefly by one person who was supposed to be my friend in elementary school. Later on the school bus to high school two other girls made that hour-long ride miserable for me. I was an easy target, small, painfully shy and afraid. I wonder if there were other incidences that I blocked from my memory.
Hearing and reading about kids being bullied makes me feel ill. I have signed, Tara. Bless you.
Thanks for raising awareness about this. I’ll certainly go sign the petition.
Thank You for this post. I was bullied. I have worked as a counselor to educate kids, parents, and school districts about bullying. Having this movie rated R misses the “boat” of meeting needs of our society today.
Reblogged this on Sms|DesiRe.
Thanks for sharing!
What a powerful trailer! I never felt bullied. Maybe picked on a bit from time to time. There sure is a fine line. I signed the petition and just sent it to a bunch of my facebook friends.