Roly Poly - Hardcover

A young polar bear learns to accept his role of big brother to a new arrival in his family....In a departure from her signature watercolors, Dyer has created charming, needle-felted polar bears as the characters, photographed with tiny accessories in miniature rooms or snowy, outdoor settings. Fox's spare text demonstrates her deep understanding of a youngster's intense emotions, subtly showing Roly Poly's growth from a self-centered toddler to a big brother who can take responsibility for a younger brother he has grown to love. A new classic for new big brothers and sisters.--Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review "October 1, 2019 "

In this sprightly offering from the team behind Time for Bed, Roly Poly the polar bear thinks life is "grand"--until the morning he learns that the wee bear sharing his bed is his new brother, Monty: "But I never asked for a baby brother, and I don't want one now!"....Fox's spare, wry text leaves readers ample room to embellish and personalize the story, while the mixed-media illustrations humorously portray the siblings' interactions. Dyer fashioned the bears using needle felting, a process that involves poking raw wool with a barbed needle to alter the density of its fiber, and Birdsall (the Penderwicks series) helped Dyer stage the scenarios and then photographed them. The resulting, beguiling images have a 3-D quality and authentically capture the jumbled emotions that accompany the arrival of a sibling.--Publishers Weekly "November 4, 2019 "

Mem Fox is an educator and international literacy expert, and her many acclaimed picture books for young children include Yoo-Hoo, Ladybug!; Hello Baby!; Baby Bedtime; I'm an Immigrant Too; the bestselling modern classics Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes and Time for Bed; and, for adults, Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever. She lives in Adelaide, Australia. Visit her at MemFox.net.

Jane Dyer is the illustrator of many books for children, including When Mama Comes Home Tonight, Sophie's Masterpiece by Eileen Spinelli, Roly Poly by Mem Fox, and the New York Times bestselling Cookies series by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. She lives in Northampton, Massachusetts.