The Bear Family Takes on Paris, One Mishap at a Time

The Bears Go to Paris by Regina Claire

Anyone who’s ever traveled with family knows that getting there can be half the adventure. There are suitcases to pack, planes to catch and the occasional disaster to manage. Now imagine doing all that when you’re a bear considerably larger than the average tourist.

In The Bears Go to Paris, the latest installment in Regina Claire’s Bear Family Adventures series, Bear, Momma Bear, Fred, Sue and Little Cub are headed across the Atlantic for a whirlwind tour of the City of Light. And before they even leave home, Bear rips his pants while lifting luggage. It’s going to be that kind of trip.

Once they arrive, Fred consults his guidebook, Bear puzzles over a street map, Momma Bear and Sue enjoy the shops, and Little Cub discovers the pleasures of a fresh baguette with butter and jam. There’s plenty on the itinerary: Versailles, the Louvre, Notre-Dame, a boat ride along the Seine and, of course, the Eiffel Tower.

A Picture-Perfect Paris

Claire’s rhyming verse introduces young readers to these celebrated places, offering just enough information to spark curiosity without turning the story into a geography lesson. At the Louvre, for example, Fred learns about the Venus de Milo and the Mona Lisa. At Notre-Dame, Sue’s favorite, the family marvels at a church that’s stood for 800 years. There’s even a little French vocabulary to pick up along the way.

Illustrator Tom Harrison gives readers a Paris worth lingering over. Take the shopping excursion, for instance. While the text recounts how Momma Bear and Sue visit store after store, the illustration places them beneath the magnificent stained-glass dome of Galeries Lafayette. This kind of architectural detail invites a second look.

At Notre-Dame, colored light streams through the cathedral’s stained-glass windows and splashes across the stone columns, floor and the bears themselves. Harrison makes you feel the grandeur of the place, but also the wonder of seeing it for the first time. Some of Harrison’s loveliest work, however, comes when the story slows down. At the Louvre, the family stands speechless before the awe-inspiring Mona Lisa. For a moment, the characters simply look, and so do we.

Lots of Laughter and Warmth on the Journey

And then there’s poor Bear, whose considerable size is a recurring source of trouble. His airplane seat is too small, his snacks go flying, and all that walking wears a hole in his shoe. At the Eiffel Tower, he discovers that the elevator is too cramped. Harrison gives us a wonderfully funny view straight into the tiny space, with five startled bears squeezed together and scarcely an inch to spare.

The alternative? Stairs. Lots of them. By the time Bear reaches the top, he’s ready to collapse. (Who can blame him?)

For all his mishaps, Bear wouldn’t trade the trip for anything. From the top of the Eiffel Tower, he looks out over Paris, then turns to his family and sees their smiling faces. That’s what makes all his efforts worthwhile.

The Bears Go to Paris is a cheerful read-aloud adventure, with enough visual detail to keep young readers discovering something new each time they open it. And while Bear may be exhausted by the time the family returns home, he doesn’t stay that way for long.

There’s another city he’d like to visit. And we’ll be eager to tag along.