Meet the Bears

Children's Literature - Naomi Milliner

Meet the Bears is one of six football-centric, cookie-cutter books in the "Smart about Sports" series. The introductory chapter (each "chapter" being one page of text and one photograph) states that the Bears love cold and wind and snow and ice; in fact, "they are at their best when the weather is at its worst." The next section explains that they were one of the first teams to join the NFL, and that George Halas started the team. Unfortunately, no further information is given about Halas. The next two pages show eight cards from the authors' private stash and gives a factoid or two about each player. There is also a two-page spread on Gale Sayers but, sadly, no mention of "Brian's Song," a movie based on his friendship with teammate Brian Piccolo. This seems like a missed opportunity which readers might enjoy learning about and, if available, watching. Other features include a two-page picture spread inviting the reader to find three items starting with the letter C; and a section entitled "Brain Games." These games include a five-line poem (how that qualifies as a game is unclear), and two statements, only one of which is true. For further stimulation, there are maps with numbers indicating the birth places of random players. The final pages include a record book and a list of football terms like yard and touchdown. It is tough to determine who this book would interest. Surely hard-core fans of any age know what a touchdown is, and the games and maps are an obvious but unsuccessful ploy to justify the "Smart about Sports" premise. Young fans of the sport in general, or the team specifically, may find this a quick and pleasing read; those expected to fork over , however, may be less pleased. Reviewer: Naomi Milliner