title: The Bear in the Book
author:  Kate Banks 
description: *Starred Review* The creators of The Great Blue House (2005) and Fox (2007) are as adept as any at presenting the wonders of the natural world to preschoolers. In this cozy and deceptively simple story, a toddler and his mother cuddle up at bedtime to read a favorite picture book about a black bear as it prepares for winter, hibernates in its den, and then emerges in springtime. Banks provides details about hibernation and winters many changes in both descriptive, child-friendly text and the resulting conversation between adult and child as they make their way through the book. Although the focus of this atmospheric story is seemingly on the big black bear, the book is just as much a celebration of the shared-reading experience, from sitting close and discussing the story to exploring the illustrations to noting the books sensory features. Hallenslebens rich, impressionistic artwork moves seamlessly between warm domestic scenes of the pair reading and vibrant natural landscapes with plenty of seasonal detail. With its quiet, gentle tone, this is perfect for one-on-one bedtime reading as well as for introducing hibernation, sleep cycles, and seasonal change, but the engaging, double-spread pictures will please crowds, too. Preschool-Kindergarten. --Kristen McKulski
zlib_text: A Bear Walks Into a Bar
  Eden Winters
  
  Warning: this book contains adult language and themes, including graphic
  descriptions of sexual acts that some may find offensive. It is intended for
  mature readers only, of legal age to possess such material in their area. This
  book is a work of fiction. All characters, companies, events, and locations are
  either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any
  resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places, or events is entirely
  coincidental and beyond the intent of the author and publisher.
  A Bear Walks Into a Bar © Eden Winters 2015
  Cover art by Jacqueline Sweet
  Interior Layout by P.D. Singer
  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used, reproduced or
  transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
  photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system,
  without the written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by
  law, or in the case of brief quotati