Benjamin Bear in Bright Ideas!, by Philippe Coudray, RL 1.5

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When Philippe Courdray's Benjamin Bear in Fuzzy Thinking was released in August of 2011, it was a big hit in my home, one of the first books my son took to bed with him and actually READ instead of just looking at the pictures. Besides being yet another superb book from TOON Books, and a great beginning to read book, Benjamin Bear in Fuzzy Thinking is a smart, funny book that I have since heard described as The Far Side for kids. If Mo Willems's Elephant & Piggie can be described as driven by a sort of manic, slapstick humor, then Benjamin Bear and his smaller forest friends are more philosophical and thoughtfully serious-minded in their silliness. And, in the end, their silliness (or fuzzy thinking) usually makes some kind of sense. Philippe Coudray makes readers laugh, but he also makes them think about why they are laughing.

As I said in my review of Benjamin Bear in Fuzzy Thinking, succinctly describing the antics of Benjamin and his friends in writing is tough. It's better to let them speak for themselves. In that spirit, I share with you two pages from Benjamin Bear in Bright Ideas! .


Source: Review Copy

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