Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art

Grumpy and cold when his forest friends insist he stay awake to celebrate Christmas, Bruce the bear, wearing his long underwear and warm hat, is mistaken for Santa by the youngest forest creatures.

Traditional storytime often offers a passive experience for kids, but the Whole Book approach asks the youngest of readers to ponder all aspects of a picture book and to use their critical thinking skills. Using classic examples, Megan asks kids to think about why the trim size of Ludwig Bemelman's Madeline is so generous, or why the typeset in David Wiesner's Caldecott winner, The Three Pigs, appears to twist around the page, or why books like Chris...