I like to read this story to my students on Earthday to teach them that we should care about the trees like the bear. then I talk to them about how to save the trees by watering them and not cut them down and planting more trees.

You'd think this would be a a *big* picture-book, right?  You'd be wrong.  It's actually not much bigger than a typical Leveled Reader.  Well, think about it.  The bear is a tree-hugger.  To make the book smaller is to save a fair bit of paper (and ink, and gas in the trucks that deliver the books, etc...).  Sweet book.  Apparently it's part of a series... I'll have to look for more.... ( )

"There once was a bear so filled with love and happiness that whenever he roamed the forest and came across another living thing, he would give it a hug." Yes, this was a bear that believed in spreading the love, and he'd never met a creature he didn't want to embrace, whether moose or snake. He was especially fond of the trees: big and small, apple and pear, this bear "never met a tree he didn't like." And then one day, coming upon a man about to chop down one of the oldest, tallest, and loveliest trees in the forest, the bear suddenly didn't feel like hugging anymore...

Canadian artist Nicholas Oldland's debut picture-book, Big Bear Hug reduces me to helpless giggling every time I read it. The startled (one might even say, distressed) expressions on the faces of the various creatures on the receiving end of the bear's big hugs are simply hysterical! The bear's enthusiasm - at one point he tries to hug a beaver and a tree at the same time - is delightful, and his solution to the problem of the would-be tree-chopper satisfying. A simple parable about loving the forest and its creatures, this little gem should appeal to any tree-hugger out there with a sense of humor! ( )

There once was a bear who was so filled with love that whenever he came across another living thing, he gave it a hug. When he crosses paths with a human wielding a tree-cutting axe, he wanted to eat the human but couldn�t. When he gave the human a hug, the human ran off.

beautiful message about loving everying and everyone. ( )