The Horn Book Guide

PICTURE BOOKS

Miles, Victoria

Old Mother Bear

48 pp. | Chronicle | April, 2007 | Trade ISBN 978-0-8118-5033-9 $16.95

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Molly Bang. Old Mother, an aged grizzly, gives birth to three cubs, hunts for food, and fends off a threatening male. The narrative is free from anthropomorphism, but tinged with melancholy. Bang's illustrations, in oils and chalk, capture Old Mother's stoic fatigue. Lush double-page spreads are intensely color-saturated. This is a moving and respectful portrait--of a grizzly, of nature, of a long life.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2007