Bear discoveries a book, learns to read, and now can’t get enough. Bear leaves its home in the woods, and heads to the city. But he’s not allowed in schools, and he’s not allowed in bookstores, but there is one place he is allowed, because reading is for everyone. This book is a fantastic ode to libraries everywhere, and many people will love Bears adventures.

This book is adorable and colourful! Love this story as well… books are for everyone to enjoy and people go great distances to find those books

This book was absolutely adorable! I thought the moral behind the story was perfect and the pictures are so vibrant and colorful! My five year old loved this book! We will definitely be buying our own copy when it comes out!

Books and bears are usually a winning combination. With its cute, promising cover art and interesting title, this book definitely will appeal to kids!

Bear leads a content life, until he discovers the joy of reading and wants more books - something not readily available in the forest. After searching high and low, Bear finds only a lost bicycle, so he decides to return it to the city, hoping to locate some books in the process.

I love the premise in this story, and the colorful illustrations have all kinds of fun details to enjoy! Unfortunately, a pivotal event in the story was handled a bit awkwardly for my taste, which is why I gave it a 3 star rating instead of 4 or 5. Even though the question of why Bear was suddenly walking around town on foot and what became of the bicycle was answered at the end, an added picture or sentence clue would have helped.

Thank you to Netgalley for the digital eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I like that the library was a welcoming place. The whole thing with the bike was confusing. Did the bear just steal the bike back? How does owl know how to read?

I’m a retired children’s librarian and would use this as a read aloud with 2 suggestions for improvement. I would remove the storefront of “Mr. Paws Hairdresser’s” and merely show Bear looking at the front of the library. The hours shown on the window of the library are ridiculously long. No wonder they advertise needing help. The illustrator needs to look online for more realistic open hours for an average public library.

This is such a cute book about a bear who finds out he LOVES to read! We love his friendship with owl, and his passion for books, and how amazing libraries are. The illustrations are so cute and fun!

Posted on insta @thatbookkid

This book is beautifully illustrated with wonderfully expressive animal faces. The bit about the Library was my favorite and is great to encourage kids to view the library as a welcoming place for everyone.

I loved this book and so did my daughter! It brought back memories of when I was in elementary school and had the kindest librarian ever. She was the kind of lady who'd talk to you in the halls and remember everyone's name, and if you didn't feel welcome in any other classroom or with any other person, you always had her and her books. That's where the love of reading began for me, and this book captured that perfectly!

Just loved this book about bear’s adventure after finding and the adventure it entailed. Of course there is always one place that will welcome bear!
I can see using this in story time and I know young children would love this.

This book is cute! I love the thought behind it. It’s just too lengthy for me for this age. It is a bright and colorful book which does hit the mark.

I absolutely adored this book. It basically highlights that books can be for anyone, even for animals. I know I've personally have shown my dog a picture book before, just to see how she would react. The graphics were nice and colorful, I feel like a younger child would be drawn to this book for the graphics and possibly the storyline.

The story Books Aren't for Bears is a cute story about a bear who travels to the city in search of what he loves most - books. Unfortunately for him, most of the places that house the books he is looking for are not welcoming and they keep telling him that books are not for bears. Lucky for bear, the very last place he looks for books allows him to get his 'paws' on the books he craves.

This is a great story to teach kids about acceptance and not forming preconceived opinions about people based on how they look. As a parent of two young children I feel this is a very important lesson.

My children were both so upset that the first couple of places turned bear away simply because he was a bear. "That's not fair" was what my youngest kept saying.

If you are looking for a great story to teach kids about acceptance, this is your book!

Books Aren’t for Bears
By Mark Barry
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

🚴🏼 found bicycle
🐻 bear who wants to learn more
🦉 wise owl
🍯 honey of course
👀 looking for more books
🏙 big trip to the city
🤬 hearing lots of No’s and get out
🤗 welcoming arms

We finished the book and my daughter immediately said “sooooo cute”. We loved this book about a bear who wants to read and learn more about the world. It reminded us of our weekly trips to the library and that truly reading is for everyone! I would definitely recommend this book. Out August 1, 2023.

Thank you Netgalley, & Mark Barry, Capstone Publishing for this early copy to read and review.

#BooksArentForBears shows a bear's desire to read all the books he can find. He has some obstacles in his way, but a desire to read can't be taken away. Cute book for lower elementary.

Bear is an instantly loveable character and I could see many more spin off books being made with different adventures featuring Bear. I loved the message in this book that reading is for everyone, and that after some unfriendly experiences Bear found what he was looking for in the welcoming library. The illustrations in this book have a great colour palette and style that looks fantastic and works so well with the story. It's an all round great children's book!

Books Aren't for Bears is so cute! I loved how (spoiler alert!) after being turned away in all the other places (classroom, bookstore, etc.) he is finally invited into a library! Libraries are such special places to me and I love that that was represented here. I also love the theme that we shouldn't make assumptions about anyone -- even bears who we think can't read -- and always invite people in. I definitely recommend this for all ages!

'Books Aren't for Bears' by Mark Barry is charming and sweet and hits all the right notes. For a read aloud kids will enjoy the bear trying so hard. Page after page the illustrations are engaging and bright. And, finally the adults will appreciate this love-song to libraries masquerading as a children's book. **Chef's kiss**

What a cute little children's book! A bear's new found love for books leads him away from his woods to the city where he hopes to find more books to quench his thirst for stories. The book is adorable with colorful illustrations. Books are indeed for everyone.

Books Aren’t for Bears is an adorable book with a great message for children.
Books are for everyone! The illustrations are adorable and the text engaging!
I enjoyed this with the boys.
Thanks netgalley for the arc in exchange of a review.