From: Steven
Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 11:13:52 PST

I loved Betsy Byars' "Ant Plays Bear."
  (I'm going to continue to use the L word until directed otherwise by official list policy. I find the emotional reactions I read here as valuable as the objective criticism (which I get plenty of in reading reviews). Also, the absence of rigorous critical standards here (which I perceive, anyway) makes an ordinary person like me less timid about expressing simple, unsophisticated responses, despite being in the company of others who express themselves with so much more clarity, insight, and professional expertise).
  Back to "Ant:" I've been sharing the book with 1st graders during class visits. After flashing some cool pictures from "Flashy Fantastic Rain Forest Frogs" and "The Snake Book" (dk), I am amazed how this worked up bunch of kids (the boys especially) become totally absorbed when I read them the first story from "Ant." There aren't any real big jokes; the humor is a bit subtle, but the kids laugh louder each time Ant's brother "grrrrrrrs." They seem to completely understand the two personalities, how the brother doesn't want to play at first, then likes it when he realizes Ant is scared, and how Ant is truly a bit scared even though he's almost totally sure it's really just his brother under the blanket. Byars gets so much personality into those two brothers without using very many words. Almost all of it comes from simple, perfectly paced dialogue. The repeated words and phrases that help beginning readers fit perfectly into the story. In other words, I have examined "Ant Plays Bear" and find it to be a very high quality aesthetic object.

Steven Engelfried, West Linn Public Library 1595 Burns Street West Linn, OR USA 97068 ph: 503e6x57 fax: 503e6'46 e-mail: steven at westlinn.lib.or.us
Received on Wed 10 Dec 1997 01:13:52 PM CST