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WORK TITLE: RABBIT, DUCK, AND BIG BEAR
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COUNTRY: France
NATIONALITY: French
LAST VOLUME: SATA 330
http://www.enchantedlionbooks.com/node/22 http://srlstorytime.blogspot.com/2012/05/big-wolf-and-little-wolf-by-nadine-brun.html http://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/big-wolf-and-little-wolf http://merrysbookclub.wordpress.com/2010/03/15/big-wolf-and-little-wolf-by-nadine-brun-cosme/ http://www.eclectica.org/v15n2/mondor_wolf.html 2011 Batchelder Award
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born October 6, 1960, in France.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Author of books for children.
AWARDS:Prix Littéraire Jeunesse de Chabray-les-tours, Prix France Télévision, and Prix des Enfants du Salon Chrétien de Troyes, all 2006, Prix de l’Album Cherbourg, 2007, and Notable Book selection, American Library Association, and Mildred Batchelder Honor Book selection, both 2010, all for Big Wolf and Little Wolf illustrated by Olivier Tallec.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Nadine Brun-Cosme is a noted children’s book author in her native France. The story-telling talent behind dozens of picture books for young readers, Brun-Cosme first became known to North American children with No, I Want Daddy!, a translation of her picture book C’est mon papa! In this tale, which is illustrated by Michele Backès, the vulpine little Anna is exasperated by her busy, disciplined fox-mother’s constant stream of “nons” to Anna’s requests. To retaliate, Anna decides to withhold affection from her mom. Brun-Cosme’s tale about a close-knit family of foxes will seem familiar to readers, asserted Jane Marino in her School Library Journal review, the critic adding that “this preschooler’s concerns will strike at the heart of every parent and child sharing the story.”
Brun-Cosme also introduces appealing lupine characters in her “Big Wolf and Little Wolf” books illustrated in engaging pastel art by Olivier Tallec. The wolfy duo in Big Wolf and Little Wolf are “long-snouted, fangless, decidedly unscary wolves” declared Karen Cruze in Booklist. Big Wolf is initially aghast at sharing his prime piece of hilltop, tree-shaded real estate and “is wary of this stranger who silently joins him for exercises,” wrote Kathleen Kelly MacMillan in School Library Journal. Eventually, noted Cruze, the two wolves “step tentatively toward companionship in this charming French import.”
Big Wolf and Little Wolf become accustomed to sharing their hilltop space, and they pass all four seasons together in Big Wolf and Little Wolf, in The Little Leaf That Wouldn’t Fall. The following spring, Little Wolf gambols off after an orange and vanishes in Big Wolf and Little Wolf, in Such a Beautiful Orange!, and when his friend disappears from sight, the larger lupine fears the worst. “Readers will be caught up in Big Wolf’s odyssey and rejoice when he at last tracks down his errant buddy,” wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor, and in School Library Journal Barbara Elleman noted that Brun-Cosme’s story “offers numerous possibilities for discussion about the give-and-take of friendship.” A Publishers Weekly reviewer hailed Big Wolf and Little Wolf, in Such a Beautiful Orange! as “a poignant conclusion to a stirringly original series.”
In the picture books With Dad, It’s Like That (originally published in French as Avec moi c’est comme ça ) and Daddy Long Legs (originally published in French as Papa à grands pas ), Brun-Cosme celebrates the importance of fathers in the lives of their children. In the first story, young Clare discovers that her father has his own way of doing things, subverting the nightly ritual (for instance, when dinner does not work out, he serves dessert instead). “At bedtime … Dad acquiesces to Clare’s corrections,” stated a contributor to Kirkus Reviews, “and starts over reading more slowly so that Clare has time to look at the pictures.” Based on Brun-Cosme’s work, declared a Publishers Weekly reviewer, “it’s clear that this father’s methods have their own charms.” Daddy Long Legs features a young boy named Matthew who is extremely concerned that his father’s car will not work—and that his father won’t be able to pick him up and bring him home after school. The father tries his best to reassure his son. “If the car won’t start,” wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor, “he’ll ride the neighbor’s tractor. But Matthew is too full of ‘what if’s to accept any answer.” In the end, however, the father assures Matthew that he will come to fetch him, even if he has to use his own, extremely long, legs. In Daddy Long Legs, explained a Publishers Weekly reviewer, the author “warmly conveys the father’s devotion through … increasingly outlandish theoretical scenarios.” Brun-Cosme’s work “is full of such quirky detail that it never gets dull,” stated Imogen Carter in the London Guardian. “With soothing promises that are satisfyingly silly, this is an original depiction of a parent-child relationship.” Readers “could have a lot of fun,” said Nicole Rowlinson in Resource Links, “coming up with their own creative ideas for getting to each other.”
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In a charming picture book on the value of sometimes being alone, Brun-Soxme and illustrator Olivier Tallec collaborated on Rabbit, Duck, and Big Bear. The trio are best friends who do everything in the forest together. They dance and sing and celebrate the changing seasons, tossing autumn leaves and ice-skating in winter. One thing they never do is go down the long, winding path into the forest. One day while Rabbit is ice-skating, she overshoots the end of the pond (because she hasn’t learned how to stop), and skates right down the long, winding path. At the end she finds a majestic fir tree where she listens to the wind and smells the pine in the air. She realizes it’s a great place for quiet contemplation. When she sees evidence that Duck and Big Bear have been here too, at first she’s hurt because they always do things together, but then she realizes it’s good to have a quiet place to be alone.
“Written with simplicity and subtlety, the text underscores the dual pleasures of being with friends and being alone,” said Carolyn Phelan in Booklist, who noted the clever use of color by Tallec when Duck knits something with yellow yarn that later is implied to be Rabbit’s yellow scarf and mittens. A writer in Kirkus Reviews observed: “Storytellers looking to introduce concepts of meditation or the need for alone time will make the most of this,” adding that the story’s humor and heart will appeal to all readers.
A Publishers Weekly reviewer commented on the leisurely set up of the animals’ friendship and said that the revelation at the end that Duck and Big Bear have been to the fir tree before “leads to a further kind of magic: that of contemplative solitude found and appreciated.” The story shows “the simple joys of childhood relationships and of growing up. Tallec’s pencil and acrylic paintings feature expressive cartoonlike animal characters in lush surroundings,” according to Luann Toth in Horn Book.
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BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, June 1, 2009, Karen Cruze, review of Big Wolf and Little Wolf, p. 62; January 1, 2023, Carolyn Phelan, review of Rabbit, Duck, and Big Bear, p. 83.
Guardian (London, England), May 23, 2017, Imogen Carter, review of Daddy Long Legs.
Horn Book, January-February, 2005, Christine M. Heppermann, review of No, I Want Daddy!, p. 72.
Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 2011, review of Big Wolf and Little Wolf, in Such a Beautiful Orange!; April 1, 2016, review of With Dad, It’s Like That; April 1, 2017, review of Daddy Long Legs; December 15, 2022, review of Rabbit, Duck, and Big Bear.
Publishers Weekly, March 21, 2011, review of Big Wolf and Little Wolf, in Such a Beautiful Orange!, p. 74; April 11, 2016, “Dad Days,” p. 60; April 17, 2017, review of Daddy Long Legs, p. 68.
School Library Journal, December, 2004, Jane Marino, review of No, I Want Daddy!, p. 99; August, 2009, Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, review of Big Wolf and Little Wolf, p. 72; May, 2011, Barbara Elleman, review of Big Wolf and Little Wolf, in Such a Beautiful Orange!, p. 72.
ONLINE
Albert Whitman and Company, https://www.albertwhitman.com/ (May 14, 2018), author profile.
Horn Book, https://www.hbook.com/ (May 29, 2023), Luann Toth, review of Rabbit, Duck, and Big Bear.
Pan Macmillan Website, https://www.panmacmillan.com/ (May 14, 2018), author profile.
Publishers Weekly, https://www.publishersweekly.com/ (February 2022), review of Rabbit, Duck, and Big Bear.
Ricochet-Jeunes Website, http://www.ricochet-jeunes.org/ (May 14, 2018), “Nadine Brun-Cosme.”*
Nadine Brun-Cosme lives in France, where she has written many books for children. Her books have been published in over twenty countries. She is the author of the series Grand Loup et Petit Loup and Moi devant, published by Flammarion and illustrated by Olivier Tallec. Her work was recently acknowledged by the Prix des Libraires Indépendants du Quebec. She is the recipient of the Andersen Italy Prize and the prize of France Télévision.
Rabbit, Duck, and Big Bear. By Nadine Brun-Cosme. Illus. by Olivier Tallec. Feb. 2023.40p. Random House Studio, $18.99 (9780593486986). PreS-Gr. 2.
Rabbit, Duck, and Big Bear, three good friends, live in the forest. They go everywhere together, except the long, narrow, winding path. In summer, they prepare for a woodland party. In autumn, they play, tossing fallen leaves into the air. In winter, they ice-skate together. At the top of the long, winding path, Big Bear and Duck stop, but Rabbit (an inexperienced skater) quickly slides downhill and ends up beneath a glorious fir tree. When Big Bear and Duck arrive, Rabbit learns that each of the others has gone there before for solitary reflection. Initially feeling hurt, Rabbit stays beneath the tree and closes her eyes. Listening to the wind and breathing in the piney scent, she realizes that this experience is special. Now the three friends go almost everywhere together. Written with simplicity and subtlety, the text underscores the dual pleasures of being with friends and being alone. The expressive illustrations, created with pencil and acrylic paints, reflect the narrative's tone while adding their own touches, such as the yellow yarn that Duck knits in the summer, which surely becomes the yellow scarf and mittens that Rabbit wears in the winter scenes. A charming picture book portraying the rewards of friendship and solitude.--Carolyn Phelan
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Phelan, Carolyn. "Rabbit, Duck, and Big Bear." Booklist, vol. 119, no. 9-10, 1 Jan. 2023, p. 83. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A735624434/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=70f8d3d5. Accessed 16 May 2023.
Brun-Cosme, Nadine RABBIT, DUCK, AND BIG BEAR Random House Studio (Children's None) $18.99 2, 14 ISBN: 978-0-593-48698-6
A trio of friends are inseparable mostly.
Rabbit, Duck, and Big Bear do everything together, from dancing and singing to playing and celebrating. But for all their fun activities, they always avoid the "long, winding path" that snakes off into a darker part of the woods. There's always a reason not to go down the path: It's too narrow for them to walk together; they're too tired; the path is too muddy in the autumn. This tactic works well until one day, while ice skating, Rabbit overshoots her stop and goes skating down the path alone. When she finally stops, she's at the base of a gigantic fir tree. Duck and Big Bear run after her, and some secrets about the tree and its peaceful aura are revealed to both Rabbit and readers. This winning story about the importance of quiet places to reflect on life is enhanced greatly by pencil and acrylic illustrations that capture movement and expression in every stroke. Storytellers looking to introduce concepts of meditation or the need for alone time will make the most of this, but the narrative's humor and heart will appeal to anyone simply looking for an engaging tale. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
As sublime as sitting under a magnificent fir tree in quiet contemplation. (Picture book. 4-8)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Brun-Cosme, Nadine: RABBIT, DUCK, AND BIG BEAR." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Dec. 2022, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A729727306/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=27fdfba0. Accessed 16 May 2023.
Rabbit, Duck, and Big Bear
Nadine Brun-Cosme, illus. by Olivier Tallec. Random House Studio, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-593-48698-6
In a long, leisurely setup to this reflective picture book by previous collaborators Brun-Cosme and Tallec (the Big Wolf and Little Wolf series), affectionate lines establish that Rabbit, Duck, and Big Bear are both best friends and constant companions: “They play together, eat together, and chop wood together. They run, hide, and chase each other.” Pencil and acrylic paint spreads show lean Duck, long-eared Rabbit, and wide-eyed Big Bear cavorting happily together through spring, summer, and fall. There’s one place they never go, though: a path that leads deeper into the forest. In the winter, having not yet learned how to stop on ice skates, Rabbit inadvertently travels down the path and finds a forest sanctuary beneath a majestic fir, where she “inhales the rich, earthy scent. She listens to the wind’s smooth sound.” The revelation that Big Bear and Duck have been there before, and regularly visit the glade alone, both surprises Rabbit and leads to a further kind of magic: that of contemplative solitude found and appreciated. Ages 4–8. Agent (for author and illustrator): Kirsten Hall, Catbird Productions. (Feb.)
Review of Rabbit, Duck, and Big Bear
by Luann Toth
May 29, 2023 | Filed in Book Reviews
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Rabbit, Duck, and Big Bear
by Nadine Brun-Cosme; illus. by Olivier Tallec
Primary Random House Studio/Random 40 pp.
2/23 9780593486986 $18.99
Library ed. 9780593486993 $21.99
e-book ed. 9780593487006 $10.99
Three besties—Rabbit, Duck, and Big Bear—are always together, frolicking and having fun in their forest home throughout the seasons. While they are keen to explore, as a group the intrepid trio has never ventured down “the long, winding path.” One winter day, however, as Rabbit is learning to ice skate (but not yet how to stop), she finds herself alone and “barreling down the path, not knowing where she is headed.” She ends up in front of “the grandest fir tree she has ever seen.” Her first thought: “If only my friends were here to see this.” Once her worried pals find her, Rabbit excitedly shares her discovery, but it turns out that both Big Bear and Duck know the idyllic spot well. “I come here when I feel like being alone,” Big Bear says. Duck likes to visit the tree on still mornings and think. Rabbit is confused and hurt at first (“we do everything together”) but comes to understand the need for each of them to feel the tree’s restorative magic individually sometimes. ¬Brun-Cosme’s spare, straightforward text captures the simple joys of childhood relationships and of growing up. Tallec’s pencil and acrylic paintings feature expressive cartoonlike animal characters in lush ¬surroundings. Spot and sequential art add humor and energy to verdant, almost impressionistic landscapes. A smart and subtle glimpse at ¬social-emotional learning and appreciation for the natural world.
Pubissue-From the May/June 2023 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.