Knock Knock

PreS-Gr 1—As bear settles into bed for his long winter hibernation, a "KNOCK KNOCK" at the door causes him to rise and frustratingly ask, "Who's there?" One anthropomorphic woodland creature after another offers up a name and silly exchanges in the form of knock-knock jokes which are represented in alternating speech bubbles. Justin the fox responds, "Justin the neighborhood and thought I'd stop by!" while a group of critters that reply, "Olive" to Bear's concerned, "Who's there?" joyfully shout, "Olive us!" When a wolf, or "Ima," appears at the window, he responds, "Ima gonna huff and puff and blow the house down if you don't open this door." The lively, full-color cartoon illustrations are kid-friendly and fun, and the expressive characters paired with the back-and-forth jokes will make for an amusing read-aloud. The urgency of Bear's friends to enter his cozy winter den is understood in one of the final full-page spreads where a banner reads, "Happy Hibernation," and a party with full decoration, followed by bedtime stories, is set for Bear.