The Red Fruit
by Lee Gee Eun; illus. by the author
Preschool    Levine Querido    64 pp.
11/23    9781646147007    $18.99

Hungry baby bear wakes up early and wanders off alone. When a delicious red fruit falls from a tree and lands on his head, he decides to search for more. The tree is exceedingly tall, but that doesn’t stop him. On his way up, he spots what he thinks is the red fruit, but page-turns reveal other surprises: a caterpillar, a squirrel, a beehive. At the top of the tree, he’s mesmerized by what he thinks is the biggest red fruit of all: the setting sun. Eun fills this Korean import with simple sentences (“I want to eat more”), perfect for pre- and emerging readers. Playful text orientation captures bear’s daunting climb: the letters of “Going up” are set in a vertical line. The use of a repeated “Oh!” for many of the creatures the bear sees on his climb emphasizes his abundant curiosity. Vibrant pops of red for the elements in nature that baby bear discovers punctuate an otherwise monochromatic palette in textured illustrations with relaxed lines that look like they were done in charcoals. Thinking the setting sun is “a huge red fruit,” baby bear leaps to grab it but instead falls toward the ground, passing all his red discoveries on the way down. Thankfully, an adult bear is there to catch him. A new discovery, this one yellow, hints at another enchanting adventure.

From the November/December 2023 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.