The best part of this book was the lovely paper cut-out artwork that combined notepaper, construction paper, patterned sheets, and other paper paraphernalia to craft a super pretty woodland. This story as a whole has a calm, soothing feel to it but is also embedded with a sense of curiosity- all in all a great children's book! ( )

This bear sometimes looks like a penguin. ( )

Eager to see his first Spring, Maurice the bear pesters his mother about its arrival, only to be told that he will experience it when they awaken from their hibernation. Not content to wait until then, Maurice sets out into the woods to search for Spring, encountering his very first snowfall. Imagining that this is Spring, he carefully saves a ball of snow for later, joining his mother in her slumbers. When he awakens, he imagines that 'Spring' is gone because the snowball has melted, only to meet it for the first time...

A sweet picture-book celebration of the seasons, Finding Spring is an excellent companion to The Little Yellow Leaf, Carin Berger's examination of the beauties of autumn. The illustrations are just lovely, which comes as no surprise, given my appreciation for the artist's previous work. Assembled from cut paper and found ephemera, the scenes here are full of interesting little details, from the lined paper used for the end-pages to the little bits of text (part of the cut paper used) that appear in various places throughout. The lines of text running up the borders of the trees, in one scene, create a fascinating visual effect. Recommended to anyone looking for children's books about the changing of the seasons, as well as to fellow fans of Carin Berger's art. ( )

Instead of hibernating, a bear cub goes in search of spring. Joyful story with exceptional collage illustrations. ( )

Read on March 18, 2015

A little bear goes searching for spring as his mother and everyone else in the forest starts to prepare for their long winter sleep. I was a little worried this cub was going to get lost and die in the snow. The good news is he *thought* he found spring in the form of a snowflake and quickly took it back to his mom where he fell asleep.

The illustrations are beautiful though! ( )