Michael Rosen,Helen Oxenbury, We're Going on a Bear Hunt Review

Overall Rating

A fANTASTIC BOOK!

None

I want to share with you our favourite family book. We're going on a bear hunt by Michael Rosen has held the number 1 position as my 2 year olds favourite since he was given it as a present for his first birthday. My other son also loves to read this to his little brother (far too big to admit to enjoying it himself)! This book also passes the parent test- they really enjoy sharing this one! More than can be said for Thomas the tank engine, another one of my 2 year olds loves! The book with 32 pages is just long enough to keep a young child's attention.

The story is about a family of 5, mum, dad 3 children and a dog, The family decide it would be fun to go on a bear hunt. They all set off with confidence to find a bear, stating that they are not scared! The journey to find the bear takes the family through many hazards, including a cold deep river to cross, a dark forest to get through, a snowstorm and my son's favourite, thick oozy mud! At this point he usually runs into the hall to find his wellies! The text repeats at each hazard, we can't go over it. We can't go under it. Oh no! We've got to go through it! As the hazard is negotiated Michael Rosen uses language brilliantly to describe it e.g. stumble trip, stumble stumble trip, stumble trip as the family run through the forest. I particularly love squelch squerch to describe going through the mud! Wonderful word squerch!
Finally the family arrive at the mouth of a big, dark cave, scary stuff! They tiptoe in sounding less convincing now, that they are not scared! Of course the bear is inside. The family then retrace their steps negotiating all the hazards in reverse order and the fun is had all over again, only this time at great speed, my children love it! The family arrive home and all hide under the duvet together. The final page shows the bear walking away looking rejected along a beach. I tell my children he wanted to be friends!

The recommended age range for this book is 2-5 although I think younger children would enjoy it too. The repetition in the text is excellent for children who are just starting to read. Sharing books is a wonderful way for parents to sit down with their children and encourages language development.



The illustrations are provided by Helen Oxenbury and are delightful. They are Delicately drawn and alternate between watercolour and black and white .The attention to detail is wonderful and enables discussion about what else is happening on each page, encouraging language development .I really love the way no one person in the family is shown as the leader. All members take turns in helping the baby, or taking the lead. The pictures are all large, drawn on a double page so really make an impact. The picture of all the family including the dog hiding under the duvet has a lot of humour in it and helps prevent this book from being too scary.

We have the board version of this book, which came in a box and included a little soft bear, which is fun to hold as the story is read. It cost £9.99. I see Amazon is offering this in paperback form for £4.36 at present, a bargain! The board version costs £4,99 from Amazon. It is also available as an audio book for £6.39
We're going on a bear hunt is published by walker and the ISBN number is 0-7445-2323-0. I forgot to add that this book won the smarties book prize in 1989.I hope I have convinced you to get a copy, you will not regret it!
.