Grumpy bear Bruce is back in his first World of Reading adventure from author Ryan T. Higgens. The charmingly unhappy black bear debuted in Mother Bruce in 2016, earning the author several awards. Bruce has had a few adventures since then, including Hotel Bruce, Bruce’s Big Move, and Santa Bruce. Those picture books were perfect for parents to read to kids during storytime, but this World of Reading Level 1 book allows Pre-K – 1st Grade students to put their reading skills to the test with Bruce’s Big Fun Day.
Nibs the mouse has a day full of activities planned for Bruce, who would rather stay home. Bruce’s entire day is hijacked, from breakfast to bedtime, and Nibs makes him do a lot of things he doesn’t want to do. Kids will laugh as they read the sentence on each page and then notice the hilarity in the artwork.
The text keeps the reading easy, never shortening “It is” to “It’s.” All of the words are likely to be in the target audience’s vocabulary, the one exception possibly being “Supper.” The artwork is charming and humorous as well, with one joke that might go over kids heads where Bruce is served a fancy meal that is very small.
Whether your child is completely independent with their level 1 reading or you have to assist them, they’re sure to love Bruce’s Big Fun Day. It can also be used as a way to talk to them about how they feel when they do something they don’t want to do. In the story, Bruce doesn’t like the day Nibbs has planned for him, but he does them anyway to be a good sport. And if they fall in love with Nibbs, he co-stars in another book called Be Quiet! that is great for helping kids work through tantrums and increase their patience.