Starred Review for Publishers Weekly

In time for autumn, Henkes (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Kitten's First Full Moon) masterfully tells of a hibernating bear who “dreamed that spring had come and he was a cub again.” Henkes's surefooted art guides readers through time: a terracotta dust jacket and acorn-brown frontpapers inked with dark brown leaves set the season. The tawny bear, pictured in full-page or four-to-a-page images, curls in his den, his eyes closed and his paws relaxed. Full-bleed spreads depict his dreams, first of being small among enormous flowers (“He took a nap in a giant pink crocus”), then of wandering on lush green summer hillsides (“The sky clouded over, and it rained blueberries”). His hibernation vision of fall includes rust-colored birds and orange fish, and his imaginary winter is a cool blue expanse under stars “of all colors.” When the bear's eyes open on a real spring day, he feels refreshed, if larger and older than his dream self. Lyrically describing the young-at-heart, Henkes plays an artist's game of hot and cold watercolor hues. Lilac endpapers crowded with flowers and butterflies and a back cover image of the bear in springtime balance the cover's imagery and gently and calmly acknowledge the annual cycle. Ages 2–7. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Sept.)

Starred Review ALA Booklist (Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 CDT 2008)

Starred Review Henkes returns to the artistic style of his Caldecott Medal winner, Kitten's First Full Moon (2004), and A Good Day (2007) in another picture-book celebration of simple, pure joy. All winter long, while snow falls outside his den, Old Bear lies silent and still in a deep sleep. In his dreams, though, he's an active explorer who roams the woods, savoring each season's pleasures: spring's blooms, summer's berries, fall's fiery colors, and winter's blazing stars. When Old Bear finally wakes, he finds a glorious and very real spring world. As in so many of Henkes' books, nothing is superfluous. Every word, line, color choice, and composition element feels essential and fits beautifully into a common theme. The circle of the seasons, so clearly illustrated in the exuberant images, is echoed throughout the book, even in the text's cyclical rhythms: "Old Bear slept and dreamed, dreamed and slept." The elemental words and graceful pacing make this a perfect read-aloud for preschoolers. They'll want to linger over the scenes of Old Bear's whimsical dreams, rendered in bold outlines and color washes that move with the seasons from pastel spring through icy-blue winter. Young children already know what Old Bear discovers: the lines between imagined and real worlds are blurry, and each place is filled with wonderment.

School Library Journal Starred Review (Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2008)

PreS-K Henkes cleverly begins his story on the front jacket. Against a backdrop of red leaves and drifting snowflakes, a large and endearing molasses-colored bear, defined by sturdy dark brown lines, strides across the page. His journey continues through the opening spreads: it is obvious that this creature knows exactly where he is heading. By the time the story actually begins, Old Bear has found his den and lies sound asleep, oblivious to the swirl of winter around him. Dreams comfort him: once more a cub and surrounded by the colors of spring, he naps in a giant pink crocus. His dreams turn to summer where a daisy sun shines in the sky, leaves appear as butterflies, and clouds rain tasty blueberries. Old Bear dreams on through the seasons. Then, one day he awakens, stretches, and heads out into the real world where he is met with flowering trees, butterflies and tulips, and a glistening lake. Now, Old Bear is part of the wonder. As he did in Kitten's First Full Moon , Henkes has created a thoroughly delightful character filled with curiosity and sweetness and placed him in a simple tale that unfolds with a natural, rhythmical pace. And to fill out his cyclical story, the artist provides autumnal front endpapers and contrasting vernal back endpapers. Opportunities to introduce the seasons, colors, and animal hibernation abound. Old Bear will enrapture young listeners for years to come. Barbara Elleman, Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Amherst, MA

Horn Book (Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2009)

An old bear settles down to take his long winter nap. He imagines his cubhood through the seasons in four glorious, vividly colored spreads. Henkes keeps text and art timelessly simple. Likewise, everything about the book's design and construction, including the front and back jackets, covers, and endpapers, is also in sync with the story's soft, subtle nature and theme of change.

Kirkus Reviews

When Old Bear sleeps, he dreams of being a cub and of the changing seasons. When he wakens and steps out into the soft pastels of Henkes's spring, he does not feel the passage of time, and in expression and carriage he exudes youthfulness. Many careful choices are made in a book that only seems uncomplicated. As bears go, smiling Old Bear looks as friendly as the teddies children cherish. His benign but shaggy appearance will invite them to learn many concepts, in the gentlest and most implicit way: youth and age, hibernation and renewal, the passage of seasons. Watercolor-and-ink paintings are bright but delicately hued. Bear's bold outline changes with the palette of each season. His fanciful dreams, as well as the spring "reveal," are full bleed, double-page spreads while other illustrations are neatly framed, emphasizing the ursine bulk. Confident, harmonious and sweet. (Picture book. 2-6)