Kiddos, especially any fans of Fat Bear Week, will love sweet, funny Otis, and giggle at his sleeping form facedown in his own drool in his cave or zonked out on the riverbank, clueless he’s become the resting spot for a butterfly. Laberis’ digitally rendered illustrations have great variety in their layout. . . There’s fun here but also a sweet moral about doing things on your own timeline that will resonate with readers who move at a slightly slower pace. An author’s note provides more information about bear #480 at Katmai National Park & Preserve, which inspired the story, and hibernation.

– BCCB, May 2026

Inspired by a real brown bear—a denizen of Alaska’s Katmai National Park & Preserve, and repeat Fat Bear Week champion—this sturdy picture book advocates industrial-strength patience and unflappable self-knowledge. After hibernating through the Alaskan winter, bears awaken with bellies like “hollow pockets, growling to be filled,” Scanlon and Brockenbrough write. The animals trudge to the river where salmon are running. . . while “other bears are younger. Faster. Stronger,” Otis doesn’t worry. Across digital drawings that resemble contemporary animation, Laberis portrays the bear as rakish, rumpled, and wise: he waits for the perfect spot, eats unhurriedly, and occasionally naps, knowing that “what does matter is being a bear in his own way, in his own time.” It’s an energy worth bearing in mind when the world demands keeping up.

– Publishers Weekly, 2/23/2026