Bears and Christmas books seem to go together especially well. Rarely have I seen such a harmonious pairing of the two as in Bear's First Christmas,
written by Robert Kinerk and illustrated by Jim LaMarche. Just a glance
at the cover, which shows the shaggy young bear catching snowflakes on
his tongue in the pink light of sunrise, gives a good indication of the
beauty to follow.
Kinerk weaves his tale in rhyme, set in the
whimsical Aunt Mildred font. I don't usually pay much mind to the
lettering in books, but this seems so perfect for the cozy story that I
had to mention it. I've found many Christmas books that rhyme sloppily,
with little attention to meter. That's not the case here. The fairy
tale-like narration flows smoothly and artfully, never detracting from
the wonder of the gloriously illustrated pages.
The story
begins with the bear going to sleep for the winter. Just before he does,
he notices a "brave little tree" outside his cave that "struggled to
grow where no tree ought to be." He intends to sleep through the winter,
but his slumber is interrupted by the sound of music, and in venturing
out to investigate the source, he happens upon a hungry crow, a
frustrated moose and a cold family of pheasants.
He sets aside
his goal to help them, but the music continues, and eventually they
find themselves gazing together through a picture window at a family
singing carols in the hazy glow of Christmas tree lights. What a
magnificent sight! But it's still a frosty night, and the bear and his
friends need a warm place to stay...
The book took a slightly different turn than I expected. I thought it might be one of those stories like The Christmas Visitor,
in which the protagonist expects a kingly visitor but instead opens his
home to a series of paupers, only to discover that he has been playing
host to his expected guest after all. The bear does put aside his own
desires temporarily in order to come to the aid of his fellow creatures,
but they remain with him, so that the story becomes one primarily of
fellowship.
Bear's First Christmas is written with enough sophistication to appeal to older readers, while its poetic narration, comparable to that in A Visit From St. Nicholas,
and glowing paintings, done in acrylic and colored pencil, make it a
great read-aloud for younger children. Fans of the series of bear books
by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman should also delight in this warm and fuzzy woodland tale.
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