With Big Bear and Little Bear Go Fishing, seasoned picture-book pros Amy Hest (Letters to Leo; Charley's First Night) and Erin E. Stead (A Sick Day for Amos McGee; The Sun Is Late and So Is the Farmer) make evident their keen understanding that for the youngest readers, feelings themselves can be dramatic moments. This externally quiet story, in which emotions ebb and flow along with a series of small events, should make a big impression.
When Big Bear announces that he'd like to go fishing, Little Bear is all in. They get suited up, and "now they are ready for fishing./ Almost." They gather their fishing poles, and "now they are ready for fishing./ Almost." After a couple more false starts, they set off for the lake. Once they're in their little fishing boat, they wait for a fish to bite. They have a close call, but their prey ultimately eludes them. They return home and cuddle outdoors in a hammock, clearly basking in the afterglow of a day well spent.
Anticipation, frustration, disappointment, affection--Hest doesn't spell out her book's big feels. She doesn't have to: throughout Big Bear and Little Bear Go Fishing, Stead's dainty watercolor-and-pencil illustrations are clued in. When Little Bear experiences, say, apprehension while he "looks at the wobbling and listens to the creaking" boat, readers see a downcast, slump-shouldered cub fairly glued to the dock. Naturally, Big Bear is there with his open-armed reassurance. Their relationship, not fishing, is the real story here. --Nell Beram, freelance writer and YA author