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Summary
Summary
Edward, a shy, young bear unready for play school, feels out of place surrounded by students who are ready, busy, and happy.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-Edward is not a helpful role model for young children. In each book, the conclusion is identicalhe's just not ready for the given situation. Deep Water features the bear cub at a swimming party, where he is humiliated by the other guests because of his need to wear water wings in the pool. In School, he is dragged into play school and pulled out at the end of the week. In Overnight, the small bear is left to play at a friend's house during a snowstorm. His parents promise to come back soon, but must break their word due to impassable roads, and Edward is inconsolable. In the middle of the night, his host puts chains on the car and follows the snowplow to Edward's home. The books are simply aimed at the wrong audience. Children who are working their way through challenging new experiences need people (and books) to cheer them on and offer them concrete assistance. Parents with sensitivity to their children's developmental stages know their capacities and introduce new experiences gradually, following their leads and supporting them until they have the requisite confidence. The parents depicted here do neither. Wells's characteristically droll, cuddly creations do not rescue the series from its exceedingly counterproductive message. Buy another copy of Watty Piper's classic The Little Engine That Could (Putnam, 1978) to help children bolster their confidence. Mention this series to family therapists for parents who are ready before their children are.Wendy Lukehart, Dauphin County Library, Harrisburg, PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Featuring the wryly understated texts and drolly detailed ink-and-watercolor art of the Max and Ruby titles, these paper-over-board books introduce the late-blooming Edward the Unready. In each misadventure, the expressive-eyed bear faces a new, decidedly uncomfortable situation. At a swimming party, the lifeguard calls Edward's parents to pick him up after his water wings deflate and he is rescued from the pool's bottom. When a blizzard forces Edward to spend the night at his pal Anthony's house, Anthony's parents realize how miserable their sleepless guest is and dig out the car to take him home. And Edward's first week of playschool is so painful for him that his teacher sends for his parents, announcing, "Not everyone is ready for the same things at the same time." That, of course, encapsulates the message imparted by each of these tales, which inventively reassure kids that it is okay to be "unready." Ages 2-6. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Another memorable character from Wells makes his anxious debut. Edward's expressions vary from troubled apprehension when he contemplates some new experience to wide-eyed, smiling contentment when he's engaged in a familiar activity in his own home. 'Not everyone is ready for the same things at the same time,' Edward is reassured. The humorous art and simple texts work together perfectly to capture this facet of childhood experience. From HORN BOOK 1995, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Ages 2^-5. Educational experts warn about "the hurried child" ; Wells imagines what it's like to be one. Her amazing picture books, from Timothy Goes to School (1981) to Shy Charles (1988), always focus on the child as an individual, the one who doesn't fit in. In this set of three small books about Edward the Unready, Edward is a small brown bear who is happy in his own backyard. In each book, he's pushed to do something he isn't yet ready for--start preschool, sleep overnight at a friend's house, attend a pool party. In each case, he doesn't want to go, he's miserable when he gets there, and he gets his way in the end and ends up at home, snug on his father's lap with no interruptions. Yet there are no formula solutions. Wells tells funny, touching stories. Each of the three books has its own adventure, with exciting action and individual characters. The panic and reassurance grow right out of the toddler experience. The framed ink drawings with bright watercolor paintings express how Edward sees things and what he feels. He's bewildered at the school uproar, suspicious of the hearty good cheer, overwhelmed by adults' gigantic size, cozy in his own world. His wide white eyes in his brown furry face show his fear; in the tilt of his square head, there's suspicion; in the stiffness of his heavy body, there's resistance; his smiling mouth and expansive arms show his bliss. Edward is a most determined child, quiet but unwavering in his uncertainty. One reason he gets his way is that adults are nice. They may push too hard, and they're a bit dense at times, but they do eventually get it. They love him. --Hazel Rochman