Brainy about Bears

This is the ninth title in Owen Davey’s incredibly popular ‘About Animals’ series. ‘Brainy about Bears’ offers the same appealing style of illustration and wealth of information readers have come accustomed to in these books.

The book starts by defining what a bear is before offering an overview of the species and subspecies around the world. Following pages are devoted to their diet, habitat, how they move and how they have adapted to survive. Side headings help to break the information into easily digested chunks and each spread is highly illustrated. An index at the end of the book enables readers to locate information about specific bears as well as offering their binomial classifications.

Traditionally in this series there is a section about some of the mythology connected to the titular creature and this is no exception. Here, the reader is introduced to Ukuku, half-human, half-bear tricksters from the Peruvian Andes, Ursa Major, Berserkers and Ungnyeo, the bear woman of a creation myth from Korea.

The book concludes with thoughts about the conservation and protection of bears in different parts of the world, calling Giant Pandas and polar bears ‘poster animals for the effects of climate change’.

A bear-illiant addition to the series!

Brainy about Bears

Owen Davey

Flying Eye ISBN: 978-1838741617

You can read my review of ‘Passionate about Penguins’ here , ‘Fanatical about Frogs’ here, ‘Obsessive about Octopuses’ here ‘Bonkers about Beetles’ here and ‘Crazy about Cats’ here.

Blog Tour: No Sleep for Bear

I love Duncan Beedie’s books and so was delighted to be asked to take part in this blog tour for his new book, ‘No Sleep for Bear’.

Bear (star of The Bear Who Stared’) is back in another story! As Winter approaches, Bear is looking forward to a very long sleep. He makes a list and settles down…but the more he tries, the more awake he feels. Eventually, he meets Frog, who shows him how to relax and soon he is snoring contentedly!

A new book from Duncan Beedie is always a delight! ‘No Sleep for Bear’ is completely adorable and is sure to become a firm favourite as a bedtime story. Full of gentle humour, Bear learns the importance of relaxing and being calm before going to sleep, brilliant advice for little ones and adults alike when thinking about bedtime. All of Bear’s friends try to help him in his quest for a good night’s sleep- even when it takes them all winter to do so!

There are obvious links between the story and hibernation, animal habitats and well being, making this a lovely story to include in a topic box as well as on class and library shelves.

The illustrations are full of visual jokes and plenty of details to keep readers entertained on every reading. I love the little family of ladybirds- they need a book of their own!

Bear is so lovely that he would make the perfect subject for a Book Group session. Here is an idea for a simple awake/ asleep Bear glove puppet which could be made with children at home or school.

You need some thicker paper (sugar paper works well, but any can be used really), thin card for the wheel (teabag box card is good), felt pens, scissors and a split pin. Bear is brown, but white could easily be used and coloured/painted.

Using your hand as a guide for size, cut two matching ‘mit’ shaped pieces (see middle picture) for Bear’s face/body. Now you need to create a ‘wheel’ so that Bear can gradually close his eyes as he falls asleep. Draw round something circular, which is just slightly wider than the mit shape, on white card and then cut this out.

Decorate Bear, carefully cutting out eye holes. I forgot to add his distinctive eyebrows! Cut two smaller circles out the the same material you used for the body to be his ears.

Position the wheel carefully so that it is not too high up or the pieces of the puppet will not be able to be glued together. When you are happy with the position, use the split pin to attach the pieces and then cover the sharp ends with a piece of masking tape so that little fingers will not get caught on them. Then stick the front and back sections of the mit together across the top (making sure you are above the wheel) and on each side (beneath the wheel). The wheel will poke out of either side so it is easy to turn.

Now, you need to draw the eyes in so Bear falls asleep as the wheel is turned. I copied the four stages from the pictures in the book. It’s worth doing this in pencil first to make sure they fit as the different eyes need to be drawn quite close together so they can be seen without the other eyes appearing (this might not sound like it makes sense, but you’ll see!). The wheel will need to be turned a few times to loosen it so it moves freely and then Bear can fall asleep as you turn the wheel one way and then wake up again as you turn the wheel back. Finally, glue his ears into position.

Now enjoy making Bear fall asleep and wake up again. You could use the puppet whilst reading the story or for retelling your own version! Have fun!

No Sleep for Bear Duncan Beedie

Templar ISBN: 978-1787419865

Thanks very much to Duncan and the people at Templar for asking me to be part of the Blog Tour for this lovely book. Make sure you look at the other posts!

You can read my review of ‘Oof Makes an Ouch! here, Molly’s Moon Mission here and ‘The Last Chip’ here.

Five Bears

Whilst on a walk through the forest, Bear meets another bear. Other Bear is different, but says hello and the two bears wander along together at different paces, thinking their own thoughts when they meet a new bear. Grunty Bear joins the other two as they continue on their way. Next they meet Very Big Bear who decides the others are friendly and feeling a little lonely, decides to follow along. When they meet Stuck Bear, the four bears work together to help and decide that although they are very different, they can all be friends.

There is something instantly appealing about a book with bears in it! In this story, there are five very different bears and Catherine Rayner’s stunning illustrations capture the individuality of each perfectly. But this is not your usual bear story!

As each bear meets the next, their reactions are awkward, suspicious and even hostile. Apart from ‘Very Big Bear’, no description is offered in the text, but the illustrations clearly show their physical differences. The First Bear- ‘a very nice bear by all accounts, but a bear all the same’- is instantly on the defensive when he meets Other Bear. He speaks ‘suspiciously’ and ‘warily’ although Other Bear offers a ‘How do you do?’ and ‘Have a nice day!’. These pleasantries disarm First Bear who decides to follow Other Bear and the two wander on together. Perfect for using with any age group, the story encourages discussions about how we perceive difference as well as considering how to respond in social situations. The apparent simplicity and repetition of the story belie the importance of the story as a starting point for conversations about inclusivity, individuality, initial actions and reactions and friendship. The bears are also gender neutral.

In addition to this, the carefully researched illustrations are perfect for inspiring children to find out more about the different types of bears in the world.

Can’t recommend this one highly enough!

Five Bears Catherine Rayner

Macmillan ISBN: 978-1529051278

You can read my review of ‘Arlo the Lion Who Couldn’t Sleep’ here.