Boo Boo’s Book List: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

This book is written by Bill Martin Jr, but no one knows that. What they do know is that Eric Carle illustrated it. Once you’ve seen one of his books you’ll have his trademark formula of color and collage etched in your memory, and you’ll know an Eric Carle book when you see one.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? offers a good look into a major toddler agenda: seeing things. It never gets old! Boo Boo wants us to see all that he sees, and he says so every time he points at something, which is all the time. Brown Bear, Brown Bear is the natural first step on a path that leads to I Spy and Where’s Waldo.

Many folks know the book by heart. There’s animals, and they see things. The Brown Bear sees the Red Bird and eventually that leads to a Purple Cat. Some humans also make an appearance. What I want to know is why start with a Brown Bear instead of the Purple Cat or the White Dog? What is the story behind that? Was this a conscious decision on Carle’s part (and I guess Bill Martin Jr) because he knew kids are into teddy bears? Also, why is the cat purple? But also, why not? 

Boo Boo got this book from my mom. She works at the Kansas City Public Library. He is not allowed to not like books, and this book is one of his favorites. He and the animals are one in their agenda of seeing things. But apparently the book needed a vacation.

 

A few months ago when we saw Boo Boo independently selecting books from the book shelf, turning the pages and looking at the images at great length we realized their power–not only on his mind, but also as Mother’s (and Father’s) Little Helpers. We started giving him books while we changed his diaper. We still do. He lays still, turning the pages, focusing on each one, sometimes talking to himself with the same cadences we use while reading to him. Sometimes he holds the books upside down, but either way, he’s committed. 

Sometimes, however, if the poo is exceptional or the pee is diluvial and the diaper change takes too long, Boo Boo starts to fidget and as a result some books go overboard, tumbling over his changing pad and under the changing table. Most often they are retrieved but sometimes not, especially if we need to go somewhere and we have to change diapers the way the Indy 500 pit crew changes tires. 

While Brown Bear, Brown Bear was the victim of a hasty diaper change, it is also the victim of too much use. Its pages are bent and the spine is slightly warped. Like I said, it needed a break. While it was acknowledged that we hadn’t seen it for a while, the prevailing thought was that it had to be somewhere. 

And it was. Jer-bear had been moving furniture to do a thorough behind-the-wall scourge of dust bunnies and the like. Apparently Brown Bear, Brown Bear had fallen off the changing table and slipped behind Boo Boo’s drawers right next door. 

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what did you see? Nothing. Total darkness.

When Jer-bear emerged with the book Boo Boo’s hands shot towards it. Hello old friend, he seemed to say. 

While Boo Boo always liked the book, in the weeks that Brown Bear, Brown Bear was having its retreat in the darkness Boo Boo had been expanding his animal sound repertoire. 

 

 

While it is obviously a good book to learn colors, we have been using it to teach about animal noises. In fact, that’s one of the first things we did with the book. I roared at the bear, mimicked a cardinal’s song, neighed, meowed, barked, and more. In a lot of literature about stages of development, making animal sounds is something babies are supposed to start doing before the end of their first year. We had gotten worried when, at ten months, Boo Boo hadn’t started barking or meowing yet.

Now we can’t get him to stop making animal noises and in addition to meows and barks he’s also conjured a good bear growl, an interesting neigh, and the beginnings of a bleat. Boo Boo is also learning about body parts, and he does a good job of pointing out all the different types of fangs, noses, eyes and ears. I’m now trying to teach him about wings, beaks and tails (there are a lot of birds in this book). 

 

 

As much as Boo Boo loves looking at the animals he also loves the end of the book, where there is a whole page full of children. We have gone to the zoo twice with Boo Boo and both times he was as enraptured by the free-roaming children as he was by the elephants, sea lions, bears and bald eagles

Anyway, Boo Boo’s Mom, Boo Boo’s Mom, what do you see? I see that it’s past my bedtime.

Good night!