Never leave your child in the woods alone... (It's the Bear! - Jez Alborough)

Member Name: KLockwood75

Product:	It's the Bear! - Jez Alborough
Date:	25/06/09 (66 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Rhyming text makes it easier to read, popular with young children

Disadvantages: Can't find it in stock anywhere...

'It's The Bear' by Jez Alborough is one of those books that I end up reading to my two year old again and again and again. In fact, I've read it so many times that when he asked for a bedtime story while away at the weekend and I didn't have a book to hand, I ended up reciting the whole book from memory. And, once I've finished, he just said 'again Mummy'....

The book is written in rhyme and tells the story of a little boy called Eddy who goes to the woods with his Mum for a picnic. However, Eddie is scared of the woods because of the bear that lives there. His Mum, in typical Mum style, tells him that there is nothing to be afraid of and then leaves him alone with the picnic hamper while she pops back home to get the blueberry pie that she has forgotten (not something I'd do personally!). Eddy and his teddy Freddie are suddenly all alone in the wood and it's not long before the bear puts in an appearance!

At the sound of the bear approaching, Eddy climbs into the hamper to hide. The bear sits down on the lid and proceeds to munch his way through the abandoned picnic, accompanied by his own giant teddy bear. On finishing the picnic, the bear decides that it is time to see what is for dessert and Eddy, still inside the hamper, is terrified. Eventually he emerges from the hamper shouting 'I want my Mum' and he and the bear look at each other in terror. Mum appears, still in complete denial that there could possibly be a bear in the woods and holding the blueberry pie aloft. Eventually she gets the message, she and Eddy run for the safety of home and the bear tucks into the blueberry pie saying 'yum yum'.

The rhythm of this book makes it an easy and enjoyable story to read to young children. My son will join in with the last couple of words of every line as the rhyming style makes it easier for him to remember what's coming next and he seems to get a sense of achievement from this. He also loves the fact that both Eddy and the bear have their own teddies. We also have the prequel to this book which is called 'Where's my Teddy' where Eddy and the bear find each other's missing teddies in the woods and encounter each other for the first time, and he likes the fact that the characters are familiar from the other story.

The illustrations are lovely - they are slightly retro in style (the book was published in 1994 but I think the illustrations have a bit of a 70s feel) but they really complement the words and add enjoyment to the story. I particularly like the illustrations of the giant bear with his giant teddy bear, and the little boy with his tiny teddy, but I feel that both words and illustrations work perfectly together which is important with books aimed at the pre-school age group.

This book doesn't appear to be sold by Amazon at the moment apart from through the Amazon marketplace, so I'm not 100% sure it is still in print. We got our copy from a family friend and it has been loved so much that it is now falling apart.

I would recommend this book to all parents of children of 2 and above. It is definitely one of my son's favourites and one he comes back to time and time again. If he's feeling under the weather (like now when he's covered in chicken pox spots), he'll always ask for this one which he calls 'Bear on a Picnic' and 'Where's my Teddy' and I can see myself still be reading it over and over for months to come. His favourite books tend to come and go, but this is definitely one of the classics in our house.

Summary: I actually enjoy reading this again and again and again...