Book review: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See, by Bill Martin Jr

“Brown bear, brown bear, What do you see?”Bear, What Do You See?” are the illustrations.
“I see a red bird looking at me.”Strong colors and jagged texture help delineate animal
“Red bird, red bird, What do you see?”bodies more sharply. Also, the animal positions are kind
“I see a yellow duck looking at me.”of static, which adds a minimal dimension to the
When I first read this to my son, I immediately sensedpictures without making them less interesting. For
the vibes of a classic book of children’s literature.example, the red bird is sketched in a flying position
Martin’s tender rhyming and Carle’s stunning,with glossy body, a sharp beak and a defined tail; Blue
energetically colored illustrations make “Brown Bear,Horse shows his teeth; Green frog has a pink tongue.
Brown Bear, What Do You See?” a classic pictureAll these details create a great atmosphere and add a
book that all children must read.live essence in the book.
On each page, the reader asks a favorite animal whatIn 2007, “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You
he sees in a rhyming tone; the animal responds withSee?” has celebrated its 40th anniversary and
another animal.came out in a larger size, with an updated cover, and
"Blue Horse, Blue Horse, What do you see?”an audio CD included. To be honest, I preferred this
“I see a green frog looking at me."edition over the original one, mostly because with the
This pattern is repeated in all pages until, in the lastCD my son has been able to follow the story better.
page, the students in a classroom see all the animals.Reading the book along with the CD has made the
I have to admit that I found Martin’s trick verypicture book liverier and even more interesting. Also, Bill
clever. Although the concept is pretty straightforward,Martin and Eric Carle talk in the CD about the book,
it gives magic to the book. With a simple questionwhile the voices of the animals are performed by the
“what do you see?” children learn the colors, theexcellent actress, Gwyneth Paltrow.
animals and how to rhyme. Each rhyme leadsTo my view, “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do
effortlessly to the next one, while the excellentYou See?” is a must in children’s literature
tissue-paper illustrations anchor the collage of animals.because it helps young children and toddlers to learn
The use of a simple repetitive language actuallynew things with a rhythmic repetition and plenty of
intrigues children who love to rhyme and to repeat theidentifiable pictures. Without offering any extravaganza
new words they learn.or any sophisticated plot, the book has earned a top
What I like the most, though, in “Brown Bear, Brownplace in the children's book hall of fame.