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Description
One fall day, a bear follows the smell of grain down a mountain and onto a hopper car on a mile-long freight train. Nobody sees him but Jeffrey, who shouts at him to get off the train. The bear pays no attention and soon settles in for a long winter sleep. For months, Jeffrey watches for the train to pass through his town, and each time it does, he tries to rouse the bear. But it's not until the fresh green smells of spring are in the air that the bear wakes from his sleep and heads back up the mountain. Bear on the Train combines a beautifully written text with richly evocative illustrations to create an unusual tale of hibernation that hums with the rhythm of the rails.
Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
- Age:
- 4 to 18
- Grade:
- p to 12
Awards
- Short-listed, Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Award
Editorial Reviews
Deines’s rich oil paintings ... are attractively textured … Best shared as a read-aloud to appreciate fully the language and captivating illustrations.
— School Library Journal
Julie Lawson’s simple, repetitive text echoes the train’s rhythmic motion and lends itself to reading aloud. She gives her story a sense of authenticity, using accurate train vocabulary like “hopper” and “siding” and describing the train’s voyage west with geographical accuracy ...
— Quill & Quire
Lawson’s words have a lovely elemental temper, spare, chiming and timeless ... The train and the landscapes it runs through are beautifully rendered by Deines, with an impressionistic sense of place harnessed by the implacable energy of the locomotive and its train of cars.
— Kirkus Reviews
Beautiful text combines with the evocative illustrations to create an unusual tale of hibernation that hums with the rhythm of the rails.
— Our Choice
Kids will enjoy the secret adventure story with its rollicking train rhythms and dramatic brown-shaded oil paintings.
— Booklist
Out of print
This edition is not currently available in bookstores. Check your local library or search for used copies at Abebooks.
