children of all ages as well as by the adults who are continually asked to read it again and again. Follow the family's excitement as they wade through the gras...
children of all ages as well as by the adults who are continually asked to read it again and again. Follow the family's excitement as they wade through the gras...
A review by loopymum65 on We're Going on a Bear Hunt - Michael Rosen October 6th, 2006
Author's product rating:
Would you read it again?
Absolutely
Story
Outstanding
Characters
Good
Readability
Excellent
Advantages:
Excellent, catchy and memorable story .
Disadvantages:
None, none, none .
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Books, books and more books.
With the exception of my hubby, we are a family of readers. I was raised with a love of the written word, and I have tried, and thankfully succeeded to pass on to my two girls, the sheer joy of slipping into the fantasy world of a book.
Ever since they were small I have read to them, and now they are a little older, (6 & 3), they choose which book they want every night. ( not to mention the half a dozen each during the day, the library books, the school and nursery books…you get the drift.)
My eldest mostly prefers to read to herself, with few exceptions as her ability progresses. WELL SHE IS SIX SO SHE KNOWS EVERYTHING…lol
The youngest begs for an encore every night and she also looks at the pictures until she is ready to go to sleep.
We came across 'We're Going On a Bear Hunt' when my eldest was quite young. It captured her imagination and we have read it what must be a hundred times without tiring of the tale. As soon as her sister was old enough to appreciate it, it became a firm favourite of hers too.
It is written by Michael Rosen, and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury.
Our copies…(we had to get them one each for bed times), are published by Walker Books, who have published so many wonderful quality children's books, that we have a growing collection and we keep adding more.
.THE STORY. The story is about a family who set out on a bear hunt on a beautiful day.
The first task they have to overcome is a field of long wavy grass. They can't go over it, they can't go under it, oh no they have to go through it. Swishy swashy, swishy swashy, swishy swashy.(This is how the sound of the grass is interpreted as they walk through it.)
The other obstacles they have to overcome are, a deep cold river, thick oozy mud, a deep dark forest, a whirling swirling snowstorm and a narrow gloomy cave.
At the end of their journey, they do encounter a bear with a shiny wet nose, two big furry ears and two big goggly eyes. However they are a bit more scared than they thought they would be, and have to retrace their footsteps back through all the obstacles again to get to the safety of home.
With each segment of the story , a sound has to be read, for the child to visualise how much of a struggle the family have on their search for the bear and their mad dash home.
For each different task, you have a repetition of, (for this example I will use the grass again as I do not wish to ruin the story.)
We're going on a bear hunt. We're going to catch a big one. What a beautiful day! Were not scared.
Uh-uh grass ! Long wavy grass. We can't go over it. Oh no! We've got to go through it!
Each task has a different sound to be read, which starts off quietly, and gets louder , which is denoted by the size of the text.
.ILLUSRATIONS. The illustrations are just fantastic. For the pages with the repetitive parts on them, they are drawn in black and white.
They are not the Mickey mouse type of drawing, where everything is larger than life and has a rose coloured glow. This is fine if that is the type of story you are reading, but for this book I just could not see it being fitting. The black and white ones were obviously originally done in pencil, as you have clear precise lines and shading.
This in no way detracts from the book in the least. The family have realistic features without the Disney falseness to them, and the weather conditions/obstacles look realistic enough for my children to become enchanted and involved with the story.
The pages depicting the family struggling through grass , forests ect, are in colour. I am no expert in artist materials, but I would say they were done with watercolours for the original illustration.
In some of them, the theme is bright and airy, in others it is dark and gloomy as befits the situation the family are in at the time. However the family itself still retain expression and you can see an indication of movement and emotion in them.
The bear itself is not a big cuddly teddy bear, nor will it give your children nightmares. Helen Oxenbury has struck just the right balance between intimidating and benign. In the end , nobody comes to any harm, so it has all the requirements for a good children's tale.
.CONCLUSION. I really cannot rate this book highly enough !!!! Both my girls have loved it since they were little, and even my youngest knows the words the whole way through. We have read it hundreds of times, and I have not tired of reading it. I get involved with all the sound effects that make the story great instead of just average. The girls get involved, chanting the repetitive parts and acting out the tasks as if our living room has become part of the story.
We recently went to a nature park which had all the elements of the story, with exception of the snow storm, (and the bear.)Thank our lucky stars. We may have looked insane to anyone who saw us, but we acted out the plot of the book and had a hilarious time doing it. To our family, this is no longer just a book, it is part of our make-up. We have been on so many bear hunts I have lost count, The book has generated so many happy memories of times I have shared with my girls, which I would not trade for all the tea in China.
I have seen this book being read to the children at my youngest nursery, and every child got involved in the story. It is a classic, which I will forever treasure for all the joy it has given me as well as the girls.
Advantages: Lyrical story and great fun to read out loud. Disadvantages: None - we love this one.
...going on a bear hunt.
We're going to catch a big one.
What a beautiful day!
We're not scared."
On the way to find the bear though they have many obstacles to conquer. The first one is long wavy grass. On the next page they are shown going through it and as they do the noise it makes is shown as Swishy swashy. Each obstacle has it's own noise and as we go through the book we find splashing rivers, squelchy mud and howling snowstorms. The family ... ...get to a narrow gloomy cave.
"Tiptoe! Tiptoe! Tiptoe! WHAT'S THAT?"
Turning the page we find out. It's the bear they were looking for. What follows is a mad panic to retrace their steps through the cave, through the snowstorm, through the forest, through the mud, through the river and through the grass. The bear is still following though and they get into their house and finally shut the door just in the nick of time. As the family all climb into ...
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24.02.2006
You can come too Review ofWe're Going on a Bear Hunt - Michael Rosenby
mumsymary
Advantages: excellent book Disadvantages: none
We are going on a bear hunt author Michael Rosen illustrator Helen Oxenbury
This book won the smatries award 1989 .
Yesterday I read this story to my class and thought they got so much enjoyment from it I would tell you about it.
I love reading stories. This is one of my favourites
Let me tell you of the story first.
The story is about a family, Daddy, big sister, little brother, baby and the family dog; they are going on a bear hunt. “We ... ...a big one,
what a beautiful day, we’re not scared.”
Then the family encounter problems long grass,
And exclaim
“Grass we cant go under it we can’t go over it we have got to go through it”
They go through the grass “squishy squashy squishy squashy”
The story continues they encounter a river, mud, a forest, and snow The sounds to make are
Splishy splashy
Squelch squelch squelch squelch (my favourite)
...
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06.04.2004
Squelch Squerch Review ofWe're Going on a Bear Hunt - Michael Rosenby
Mauri
Advantages: Bored proof Disadvantages: None
As all parents know kids are strange infuriating creatures especially between the ages of 2-5. One way in which this strangeness manifests itself is in their fixation with particular items that will send parents slowly but surely insane. Sometimes as was the case with my oldest son, it can be an old moth eaten red T-shirt that they have to sleep with every night, God forbid that we ever mislaid it! Something else that lend themselves to particular ... ...NIGHT: Dad:" What would you like me to read you dear?" The little dear: "Mr Silly!"
Dad:"Ok"
TUESDAY NIGHT:
Dad:" What would you like me to read you dear?" The little dear: "Mr Silly!"
Dad: "But we read that last night…"
Light of my life: "Want Mr Silly!"
Dad: " Yes Dear"
WEDNESDAY NIGHT:
Dad:" What would you like me to read you dear?" The Adorable One: "Mr Silly!"
Dad: "How about we read…." " MR SILLY!"
Dad: "Look at this book it's really ...
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Advantages: fun, energetic, well structured, well illustrated, easy to read Disadvantages: none
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt!
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We’re Going on a Bear Hunt is on of my favourite children’s books. It is written by Michael Rosen and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury. When I was younger I used to love this story and now I enjoy reading it with or too the children that I work with. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The Book
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The book itself comes in a variety of sizes, and ... ...have beside me is a small square, hard back copy, but somewhere in my house there is also a large book version which is great for reading to a large group of children as they can all see the pictures and the words. The copy I have cost £3.99. The story was first published in 1989 by Walker Books Ltd and the edition I have was published in 1992.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The Story
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The story follows the journey of ...
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22.03.2005
Wanna see me bear Review ofWe're Going on a Bear Hunt - Michael Rosenby
alliecat
Advantages: It's lovely Disadvantages: You'll have to read it over and over
I’m absolutely shattered – I’ve yomped through a vast grassy meadow, waded through a wide, fast-flowing river, squelched my way through a massive swathe of mud, fought my way through a dark, tangly forest and battled through a heavy snow storm. FIVE TIMES.
No, I’m not some crazy, outdoors obsessed rambler. No no. I hate the outdoors. I’d much rather curl up on the sofa with a jolly good book. And that’s exactly ... ...book in question is “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt”, words by Michael Rosen, illustrations by Helen Oxenbury, and it happens to be five-year-old Daisy’s second favourite book in the whole world (at the moment – hence the five readings one after the other).
It is hard to know where to start listing all the wonderful things about this book. It is one of those very rare things – a completely perfect children’s ...
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Advantages: Everyone can join in even the very tinies Disadvantages: You will be reading this ALL THE TIME :)
...We had this book when the kids were tinies.
It is so much fun ! ............
No really!
The pictures are beautifully painted by Helen Oxenbury (who has written and illustrated quite a few toddler books of her own).
Every other illustration is monochrome but this does not detract from the story at all.
Obviously this is about a Bearhunt!
The story written by MichaelRosen , is really a sort of verse beginning ;
We'regoing on a bearhunt!
The verse repeats but with different situations so...
The family in the pictures must find their was around the obstacles...they can't go over,they can't go under....they'll have to go..........through....
deep grass , across a river, oozy mud, through a dark forest, a snowstorm and a cave.
Acompany the story with actions and sound effects and you'll have the kids laughing their heads off...
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Advantages: Lovely poetic story Disadvantages: none
...This is one of my favourite books EVER; excellent for reading aloud, and children love it.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT?
There is not much of a plot; the skill is in the absolute poetic simplicity of the text. Whe I first read it I thought "I could write this" and when I recognised the complexity of it realised…"maybe not!!"
Three children decide to go on a bearhunt with their father and dog "We'regoing on a bearhunt, We'regoing to catch a big one"
Off they go, to be faced with different obstacles along the way-grass, mud, a forest, a snowstorm, a cave.
Then they come face to face with the bear "IT'S A BEAR!!!" Children love this bit and when they become familiar with the storyline, they wait for it so that they can have a really good shout!
Oh dear, time to get back home, so off they dash. The pace of the story changes at this...
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Advantages: Funny, witty and a great take on sharing your life with a pet! Disadvantages: Only 32 pages long!
...Once again I am here to tell you about a picture book for children. I came across this one at work down in the Children's Library the other day. A little boy thrust it at me and I kind of HAD to look at it! Then I actually stopped pretending and started to REALLY read it! Then I actually stopped pretending and started to REALLY enjoy it! This book is called Rover and I would like to share it with you.
Rover is written by MichaelRosen; the author who bought us such delights as We're All Going on a BearHunt, Centrally Heated Knickers (excellent title) and Oww! It is brilliantly illustrated by Neal Layton; an up and coming illustrator who has also worked on Poo: A Natural History, But Martin and Howler (the follow up to Rover).
I don't want to spoil the story and give away the plot too much, but I need to tell you a bit...
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helpful 03.04.2006
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