This is another book by Lane Smith that elicits smiles and laughter. He has a simplistic way of encouraging us to read more and more of his books! He never fails to amaze, amuse and bring a smile!

In this story,
It was a perfect day for cat in the flowers where sleep was comfortable.
It was a perfect day for dog when the water rom the hose was refreshingly cool and just what was needed when it was a very hot day.
It was a perfect day for Chickadee who was fortunate to enjoy a fully filled bird feeder.
It was a perfect day for squirrel who couldn't get up the bird feeder because the design prohibited success. But, the kind boy who filled the feeder, dropped a perfect cob of corn on the grass, and squirrel immediately felt lucky.

THEN

Along comes spoiler bear. He manages to disrupt each and every animal from their joy. And, as the kind boy looks out the window with cat, dog, while bird and squirrel hang around out of the window, they are dismayed that their perfect day was spoiled by a bear who had his own perfect day.

I've read many books by this author. He never fails to disappoint.

Four Stars ( )

It is a perfect warm, sunny day for the animals outside in the yard, until a bear comes along and undoes everything. With gentle humor and meditative repetition, this slice-of-life story was built for reading aloud. The oil and ink illustrations and matching font are super charming. The only human in the book is a white child named Bert.

-songs & rhymes:
-book talks: Tiptoe Joe for another charming bear-centric read-aloud that makes good use of repetition, Old Bear and other Henkes for artful animal stories with a gentle quality
-literacy asides:

Fun but forgettable. ( )

Used in storytime 9/20/2018 ( )

Cat is lounging among the daffodils. Dog is sitting in the wading pool, deep in the cool water. Chickadee is eating fresh seed from the birdfeeder. Squirrel is munching on his very own corncob. Today is a perfect day in Bert's backyard. Until Bear comes along, that is. Bear crushes the daffodils, drinks the pool water, and happily gobbles up the birdseed and corncob. Today was a perfect day for Cat, Dog, Chickadee, and Squirrel. Now, it's just a perfect day for Bear. Lane Smith uses perfect pacing and vibrant illustrations to emphasize the power of perspective in this hilarious picture book about the goings-on in Bert's backyard.