23. Wake Up, Grouchy Bear! David Ezra Stein. 2026. 48 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, animal fantasy, picture book]
First sentence: Bear dreams... and dreams.
Premise/plot: Bear is hibernating. Don't wake the bear.
My thoughts: I don't know what I was expecting with this one. I remind myself often that picture books are incredibly, incredibly, incredibly subjective. That what appeals to one reader may not another. This one--for me--had the most boring of plots. Well, that's not fair. There's a light plot to it. Everyone wants Bear to be awake, but not want to be the one to wake him up. I think if I were to reread this one and give it a fairer chance, I might like it better. But for me, I was annoyed that it was black text on blue paper. There was not enough contrast visually for me to comfortably read the text. So instead of a grouchy bear there was a grouchy reader.
© 2026 Becky Laney of Young Readers
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