Someday

Stephanie Stansbie has been a children s books editor for more than 20 years, and an author for the last 10. She adores editing and writing in equal measure and has always worked on illustrated books, where the art is as important as the word. The books she has written have been translated into more than 15 different languages. Stephanie lives in Oxford and enjoys goofing around with her family and friends, and practicing capoeira. 

Frances Ives love of all things drawing started in childhood, when she dove into an obsession with poster paints and making a big mess on every available surface. This hasn t changed much. She still works primarily in water-based media, but these days she mostly tries to keep it on the paper. Frances takes her inspiration from the structures and people that surround her, drawing from both observation and memory. Her most abiding source of inspiration is still the constant yet ever-changing sky, and all of its colors.

Follow a mother bear and cub as they spend a day in the woods and the cub learns about life.

Like most parents, Mommy Bear wishes the best for her cub strength, courage, perseverance in the face of adversity, and future loving companions. Someday. But now is the time for the mother and cub to make memories of berry feasts, swims, and snuggles. Their day is idyllic as they roam, lounge, play, and finally sleep. The illustrations include other animal parent-child units out and about, too. Early in the story, Mommy Bear compares her cub to a sapling growing into a tree, and trees, in various forms and from different perspectives, figure prominently in the soothing illustrations. The dark bears with crisp contours stand out against a variety of soft pastel nature scenes. Tree limbs often flow across the page and subtly underscore the go-with-the-flow attitude of the bears day. However, the leaves in fall flame hues, which add splashes of color to most illustrations, seem incongruously tiny given the small size of the cub. This quiet, philosophical read-aloud is just right for nap time. Given that Mommy Bear is the picture of relaxed parenting, it s also an ideal gift to remind new mothers or mothers-to-be to savor each day with their child as well as a wonderful Mother s Day present. 

A sweet parent-child relationship laced with lessons about enjoying today while also looking ahead to the future. (Picture book. 3-6) --Kirkus Reviews


Fun, thoughtful, heartwarming, "Someday" will prove to be an enduringly popular addition to family, daycare center, preschool, elementary school, and community library picture book collections for children ages 3-7. --Midwest Book Review