Otis Knows (How to Be a Bear)

Inspired by a real brown bear—a denizen of Alaska’s Katmai National Park & Preserve, and repeat Fat Bear Week champion—this sturdy picture book advocates industrial-strength patience and unflappable self-knowledge. After hibernating through the Alaskan winter, bears awaken with bellies like “hollow pockets, growling to be filled,” Scanlon (The Family Tree) and Brockenbrough (A Gift of Dust) write. The animals trudge to the river where salmon are running, their red and green bodies glinting in mid-leap. Meanwhile, the eponymous icon remains in his cave, drooling and emitting a luxuriant snore of “SSSNNNNNNRRRRKKKK.” When he finally rouses, it looks like Otis may have missed his chance to fatten up. But while “other bears are younger. Faster. Stronger,” Otis doesn’t worry. Across digital drawings that resemble contemporary animation, Laberis (the It’s Not Easy Being series) portrays the bear as rakish, rumpled, and wise: he waits for the perfect spot, eats unhurriedly, and occasionally naps, knowing that “what does matter is being a bear in his own way, in his own time.” It’s an energy worth bearing in mind when the world demands keeping up. Back matter offers contextualizing information. Ages 4–8. Authors’ agents: (for Brockenbrough) Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary; (for Scanlon) Erin Murphy, Aevitas Creative Management. Illustrator’s agent: Anne Moore Armstrong, Bright Agency. (May)