The New Bear at School
By Dawn Friedman,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Cuddly bear tale about fitting in at a new school.
A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this book.
Where to Read
Community Reviews
There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.
What's the Story?
Boris is a very big, very furry, very scary-looking grizzly bear and so he has a tough time making friends. Things are made worse when he makes several blunders on his first day of school -- breaking a chair, tearing a book, and accidentally scaring his classmates. Will they be able to see past his appearance to the lovable bear who lies underneath? When the school bullies arrive on the playground, Boris gets the opportunity to redeem himself in the eyes of his classmates.
Is It Any Good?
While parents will have likely read versions of this story many times before, kids will get a kick out of Boris' trials and will be surprised and pleased by the final outcome. Even the bullies are swashbuckling rats who add excitement without ever crossing the line to real worry. The pictures could undermine the idea that anyone could possibly be scared of Boris -- he's just adorable -- but he is convincingly big and the other animal classmates are dwarfed in comparison.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what leads us to judge by appearances. Perhaps parents have a story of when they, too, judged a book by its cover only to learn that they nearly missed the opportunity to make a new friend.
Book Details
- Author: Carrie Weston
- Genre: Picture Book
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
- Publication date: July 1, 2008
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 4 - 7
- Number of pages: 32
- Last updated: July 12, 2017
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
Suggest an Update
Where to Read
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate