"Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See" was written long before Gwyneth Paltrow was born, yet they are literary partners. Their collaboration was nominated for a 2009 Grammy Award.
Ms. Paltrow was nominated for, but did not win, the aforementioned 2009 Grammy award in the category of "Best Spoken Word Album for Children" for the album entitled "Brown Bear and Friends" based on her expressive readings from Bill Martin Jr.'s award-winning series of books.
The "friends" mentioned in the title are Martin's three subsequent titles to "Brown Bear, Brown Bear," specifically Polar Bear ((Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?"), Panda Bear ("Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?") and Baby Bear ("Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See?").
"Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" has been a staple in the American children's literature market (over seven million copies sold) for more than forty years.
In 1967, Mr. Martin teamed up with a then unknown illustrator, Eric Carle, to collaborate on their first book. Future collaborations would include three additional titles to the series. The fourth book in the series, "Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See?" was published posthumously, three years after Martin's death in 2004.
"Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" is a predictable book. It is repetitive. Children quickly catch on to its repetition and can predict what comes next in the story. Children take comfort in this predictability.
The soothing rhythm of the text along with the hand-painted tissue collages by master illustrator, Eric Carle, delight children to no end. Children take immense pleasure in listening to this story on a daily basis. It is never boring, never ho-hum. Children as young as 12 months old to the advanced age of 6 or 7 find this book fascinating. They are excited to discover the three other titles in the series.
Teachers also take great delight in this series of books. There are so many lessons that can be built around the books. Art, animals, colors, writing, reading and more. A cursory Google search for lessons plans to teach "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" results in several thousand hits. Think of the possibilities.
Bill Martin Jr.'s and Eric Carle's popular books are also widely available as baby-proofed board books.
"Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" is a children's literature classic and should be considered a staple in every child's collection of picture books.