Aided by Carle's unique illustrations, this book begs to be chanted by the parent who will be reading it for the umpteenth time. ("Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see? I see a red bird looking at me. Red bird, red bird, what do you see? I see a ....." etc., etc.) The cadence and rhythm of the words have fascinated my youngsters as they learn to identify different colored animals populating the pages of the book. Strictly a teaching tool, the book does not have a story per se, but it seems to be just right for the child who is just beginning to discover the larger world.


a classic   June 19, 2001
 41 out of 50 found this review helpful

I remember loving this book as a child, and reading this to my six-month-old son brought back wonderful memories. Yes, there's a simplistic theme running through the pages, but a young child listens for the repetitive phrase and looks for the big, colorful images. My son gets very excited each time I read the book to him, reaching for each of the animals as the page turns; and as he gets older and can comprehend the pictures better, I'm sure he'll appreciate Martin and Carle's work as much as I did.

I highly recommend this delightful book.


Your kid will love it. Will you?   June 25, 2000
 37 out of 57 found this review helpful

I have a love-hate relationship with this book. I love it because my son loves it. He is two and a half. He has loved it for a year--really loved it. Every time we go to the library he makes a bee-line for it. We sit and read it. More often than not we will attract other toddlers who will surround us and recite the text along with us. It casts some sort of spell on small children, I think. I do not own this book, however, because I HATE it. It is so repetitive that I wince as I read it. In fact, one does not read it so much as one chants it. The brown bear mantra. My son has the entire text memorized. We'll be in the grocery store or in the car and he'll start reciting it. Or I'll chant part of it and he'll chant the rest. Or we'll ad lib, inventing new animals with new colors: "Grey Mouse, Grey Mouse, What do you see?" I guess I don't really HATE this book; it's hard to hate something that gives you so much pleasure. But I'm not ready to own it yet. That said, I can't wait for my brother to have a child. He sent my son a noisy Thomas the Tank Engine book for Christmas. It beeped and whistled and hooted and basically drove me out of my mind. I intend to pay him back with "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See".


New, revised version inferior to the original.   September 14, 2005
 32 out of 37 found this review helpful

I am a Kindergarten teacher in Connecticut, and have been using this book for many years. I have the Big Book, a regular-size Paperback version, and four small hardcover ones that I use with an original tape of Bill Martin reading the story. These books are much loved, and I decided to replenish my library with new ones, only to discover that for some reason known only to himself, Bill Martin decided to change the format. In the original version, the pictures helped give clues to the words, which emergent readers need: i.e "Brown bear, brown bear What do you see?" was on the page with the picture of the brown bear. The words "I see a red bird looking at me." and then "Red bird, red bird, what do you see?" were on the page with the picture of the red bird. In this newer, revised version, the page that contains part of the picture of the brown bear has "I see a red bird looking at me." on it. When you turn to the next page, with the picture of the red bird, you see the words, "Red bird, red bird, what do you see?" but then, on the same page you get the words "I see a yellow duck looking at me." No picture clue given. I don't like this version, and it's now impossible for me to obtain a copy of the original version. I think they must be out of print. So I'm holding on to mine for dear life! They're worth their weight in gold!


A children's classic   January 29, 2000
 26 out of 28 found this review helpful

Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Bill Martin Jr. and illustrated by Eric Carle is a classic book for young readers. The REPETITIVE (not rhyming) text is what makes the book easy for little ones to memorize. The book introduces the very young to animal names and color words. The simple, REPETITIVE text encourages even the youngest of readers to chime in. An excellent choice and a must have in your child's library.