Grin and Bear It
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
A sweet, gentle story about overcoming fear and the magic of laughter, perfect for beginning readers.
Bear dreams of becoming a comedian. His jokes are unbearably funny, and he wants nothing more than to make his woodland friends laugh. There's just one hitch in the plan: Bear has stage fright. When Emmy, the comic hummingbird, discovers Bear's jokes, Bear learns that there's more than one way to achieve your dream. Told in seven short chapters. Young fans of comedy, aspiring actors, and shy kids will love this charming tale.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The title of Landry's (Space Boy) spry chapter book could easily be a punch line from its protagonist's repertoire of pun-centric jokes. An aspiring stand-up comic, Bear dreams of making his friends laugh (" You're so funny, Bear,' Fawn would call. Great jokes!' Chuck would shout"). He's fine practicing his routine in front of a mirror, but his confidence crumbles whenever he speaks in front of a crowd: "His knees knocked. His paws paused. His fur froze." After much practice, Bear decides he's ready to perform onstage and invites his friends to the show at which he bungles all his jokes. Mortified, he runs off to the local watering hole, but a hummingbird, also a would-be comedian, finds his discarded sheet of jokes and hatches a plan that will benefit them both. A deft balance of punchy, dialogue-driven text and expressive, appealingly na f pencil-and-watercolor pictures make this well suited to newly independent readers. With humor and subtlety, Landry's words and art impart a smart message about partnership, ingenuity, and pursuing one's goals. Ages 5 8.
