Starred Review for Publishers Weekly

Gravett, who won the Kate Greenaway Medal for <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Wolves, has another winner here. Using just the four words in the title in various combinations (plus a fifth word for a punchline), she ingeniously chronicles a big friendly bear's encounter with some fresh produce. Some of the vignettes are semi-reality based: the bear juggles the fruit ("Apple, bear, orange, pear") and balances all three pieces on his nose ("Orange, pear, apple, bear"). But other spreads are thoroughly fanciful: in one, Gravett tints the pear bright orange, and renders the dubious-looking bear in the green and blush hues of a Granny Smith apple ("Orange pear/ Apple bear"). The ursine hero later makes a quick meal of each fruit ("Pear, bear") and trots off into the sunset to the sound of the satisfactory punchline: "There!" Gravett sets her simple, almost iconic watercolor images against crisp white backgrounds. The fruit looks good enough to eat, and the bear, who clearly relishes his moment in the spotlight, is a winning performer. Ages 1-4. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(May)

School Library Journal Starred Review (Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2007)

PreS-Gr 1 A plump brown bear adds a humorous touch to this charming book about shapes, colors, and sequence. Five words, four of which appear in the title, make up the entire text. The cuddly-looking bear changes color and shape as he balances, juggles, and eventually eats the three pieces of fruit before loping off. The front endpapers show oranges, green pears, and green apples with rosy tinges in a line leading readers into the simple and appealing story. The endpapers at the close reveal the telltale remains: an orange peel and the apple and pear cores. Beautiful, softly hued watercolor illustrations loosely outlined in black pen and ink are delightful. Children and adults alike will relish this delectable book. Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI

ALA Booklist (Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 CDT 2007)

Choose five words; paint pictures for words; mix with charm; create original and imaginative book. Voilà picture book that exemplifies simplicity at its most creative and entertaining. The four words of the title, combined in various ways, form a visual tale as a bear juggles, interacts with, and ultimately eats an orange, pear, and apple. Stark white backgrounds set off Gravett's loosely brushed watercolor pictures of animal and fruit, which play off of the staccato words to demonstrate how punctuation and intonation can dramatically alter meanings: "Apple, Pear" goes with an image of stacked fruit, while "Orange Bear" shows the animal puzzling over his citrus-hued fur. Though the book's design appears artless, it is quite the opposite, skillfully juxtaposing page layouts to maximize the humor of the wordplay. Ideal for prereaders and helpful to those ready to write stories of their own, this will make children laugh and learn as they follow the bear's antics and chant the rhymed sequences of words.

Horn Book (Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2007)

Joey is a fine farm horse sold for cavalry use in World War I. Through Joey's Black Beauty-esque narration, readers learn of the futility of cavalry against machine guns; the loss of Joey's companion, Topthorn; and Joey's reunion with the farm boy who loves him. At times deeply affecting, the story balances the horror with moments of respite and care.

Kirkus Reviews

Loose line-and-watercolor illustrations ring the changes on all the possible combinations of the four title words in this deliciously playful romp. A very large, very genial bear first contemplates, then plays with the fruit, first turning orange, then morphing into an apple and a pear (in illustrations that emphasize his delightfully rounded posterior). The fruits themselves appear alone, in stacks and in simple compositions that recall Cezanne's still lifes. It's a masterpiece of superbly controlled pacing, each object and its corresponding word appearing initially alone on the page, then combining in twos, then all rushing together as the bear's play intensifies, then slowing again as he eats the fruits, one by one, in a glorious display of happy gluttony. The text employs only the four words of the title (with one notable, concluding exception), rearranging themselves to produce the felicitously surprising pictorial combinations. The creamy background and gray typeface complement the light lines and bright colors of the fruits, and the bear is a striking example of how, in this case at least, less is definitely more. (Picture book. 1-4)