Bathtub adventures (We're Going On a Bear Hunt - Michael Rosen)

Member Name: Diaz

Product:	We're Going On a Bear Hunt - Michael Rosen
Date:	21/09/01 (235 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: simple, fun, dramatic

Disadvantages: none, well I suppose it is for kids, but I like it

What is the most exciting thing you’ve done in a bathtub? I can think of a few but I’ll keep them to myself for the moment, but tonight I went on a bear hunt, in fact I’ve hunted bears on the beach, in the car, on trains but mostly its in bed or in the bath.

We’re Going on a Bear Hunt is a gorgeous little book, the first time we encountered it was at the local library, the librarian was reading it aloud to a group of kids and they were transfixed. We borrowed that day after the group had finished it.

The story, by Michael Rosen, is wonderfully simple and very easy to learn and the pictures by Helen Oxenbury are enchanting she manages to catch the essence of being a kid. The kids in the book don’t walk they skip and swing and ride on their Dads shoulders. They swing sticks absent mindedly at grass, they trip up and they throw stones at tin cans in fact they look like every kid you ever saw simply enjoying being a kid.

Dad, three kids, the baby and the dog set off for adventure....

“We’re going on a bear hunt,
We’re going to catch a big one.
What a beautiful day!
We’re not scared.

Uh-uh! Grass!
Long wavy grass.
We can’t go over it.
We can’t go under it.

Oh no!
We’ve got to go through it!

swishy swashy
Swishy Swashy
SWISHY SWASHY.”

Each part of the book the kids encounter more difficulties each one more difficult and scary than the last, deep cold rivers, thick oozy mud, big dark forests, swirling whirling snowstorms and finally a narrow gloomy cave. Can you guess what’s in the narrow gloomy cave??

Now the book really lends itself to actions and this can get very wet when we do the book in the bath. Lots of swishy swashying and squelch squerching makes for a very wet floor and some very excited kids.

As the kids get closer and closer to the bear the 
220;We’re not scared” gets more and more feeble, “Oh no! We’ve got to go through it!” gets whiny.

“WHAT’S THAT!
One shiny wet nose!
Two big furry ears!
Two big goggly eyes!
IT’S A BEAR!!!!”

The chase is on! With the bear closing in Dad, the kids and the dog frantically run back home, not forgetting to shut the front door. You can imagine the state of the bathroom floor, walls and maybe even the ceiling at this point as my kids scrabble around the bath!

“Into bed.
Under the covers.

We’re not going on a bear hunt again!!”

But I know we will.




“We're Going on a Bear Hunt” is published by Walker Books; ISBN: 0744555728 and costs £3.83 @ amazon.co.uk (board edition is recommended, you’ll want to keep this one)

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