Customer Reviews

We're Going on a Bear Hunt - Book, Board Game and DVD (Book & DVD & Game)

5 star:		(99)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Glancing at the cover of Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury's, "We're Going On a Bear Hunt", I thought something along the lines of, "Hrmph. I bet they watered it down and made it syrupy. There's no way this kind of kid's book (in which a father and his four children of different hair colors go hunting for a bear) is going to actually end with the family finding the bear and getting chased back to their house". Well, you can just color me wrong all over. Not only is the book faithful to the original song, but it's a hoot to boot. The words are those old familiar ones we all love so well, and the pictures are a high-stepping romp complete with adventure, daring, and danger. Everything, in fact, that a good picture book could hope to be.

If you've ever heard the song "We're Going On a Bear Hunt" then you know the way the story goes. A father and his rambunctious youngsters are setting out to locate one bear. They're not actually on a hunt in terms of carrying guns or anything of that sort. In fact, these people haven't anything with them but one another and the clothes on their backs. With their border collie along with they successfully cross the tall wavy grass (swishy swashy), ford the deep cold river (splash splosh), tromp through the ooey-gooey mud (squelch squerch), wander through the deep dark forest (stumble trip!), run through a whirling snowstorm (Hoooo woooo), and at last enter a deep dark cave (tiptoe). It's the dog that sees the malicious bear first and the brave troop run back over every place they'd been before to escape. In a moment of frenzied activity they enter their house only to discover that they've forgotten to shut the door. At the last minute they get it closed (angry bear safely outside now) and everyone crawls into bed and under the covers. The final shot in the book is one of the bear as he tromps solemly homeward again.

This is quite an exciting book. Author Michael Rosen has captured the enjoyable sounds of the story quite well, and the high tension towards the end is just delightfully scary enough for the youngsters. But it is illustrator Helen Oxenbury that really lets this puppy shine. She has the ability to create scenes in which characters are interacting with one another against huge evocative backgrounds. I'm very partial to a scene in which the family is joyfully running through the tall grasses, dotted occasionally with deep red poppies. The sky is a blue one, filled with light puffy clouds and in the distance a flock of birds travels up and away. Admittedly, I love a good pastoral illustration, but this kind of care for illustrations is visible in all Oxenbury's color pictures (each appearing on every other page). If you're at all familiar with Helen Oxenbury then you'll find numerous scenes in this story that remind you of her other books. The baby found here looks like nothing so much as a clothed version of the infant in, "Big Mama Makes the World". The muddy squelchy vista in another picture is reminiscent of the barnyard takeover attempt in, "Farmer Duck". She knows how to pick `em, Helen Oxenbury does.

Will kids be scared by a family chased by a bear? Pleasantly so, I believe. The shot of the bear walking home is enough to convince even the worry-wartiest of children that the family is not going to be eaten in the near future. All in all, this is just another one of those great picture books that fill the world. It reads aloud very well, so if you need a book to present to a large group, I've found the perfect match for you. If you like high adventure and a good tale, "We're Going on a Bear Hunt" delivers both in spades. A wonderful addition to any storytime collection.

This is one of the first books my son responded to. I could read it to him and get him to say Uh Oh at the proper point. Months later he was able to add Oh No at the proper point. A book like this, with fun noises, great prepositional phrases, interesting drawings, a funny storyline, an exciting ending, and a repetitive reading sequence, really help children to remember what's going on. A kid who can remember a story can eventually learn to tell you that story, and sometimes even do so long before they're truly reading and decoding the words.
The board book format will always be lauded in our household. We like the durability and compactness of the books. The babies can easily turn the pages, the books withstand being thrown (hey, it happens) and stepped on, and the pages can be gnawed on without too much harm.
This is one of our favorites.

We've been reading this book to our 17 month old daughter since she was given it at 6 weeks and yet it's still a favourite! She now joins in on the Uh-Oh's, and lots of the sound pages too. She's been 'reading' the Hoo Woo snowstorm page by herself since about 6 months and loves bouncing along to the rhythm of the story and waving goodbye to the bear on the last page. It wouldn't surprise me if this is the first book she 'reads' independently in a few years time. Highly recommended as a present for new babies. It's never too early to start encouraging a love of books!

...to read this book over and over and over. It's a mini-study of what appeals to toddlers (and adults!) with its strong beat, a cyclical form, noises to make ("Swishy-Swashy!")and an energetic plot. No matter how sleep-deprived you are, or how tired you may be from chasing your little one/s, the book is so inviting you will find yourself giving a highly dramatic reading ("Tiptoe, tiptoe, tiptoe....WHAT'S THAT?"). My 18-month-old daughter is wild about this book. She knows every silly noise and shrieks with delight each time we turn to the page with the bear. The text is wonderful, the illustrations are even better, and the appeal will last for years. Enjoy it.

If you're going to buy one book this year for a young child, you'd better make sure it's this one. `We're Going On A Bear Hunt' by Michael Rosen, is a children's adventure story that's guaranteed to leave you wondering at the end. What's the bear really like? Is it a good idea to go on a bear hunt? Maybe it's safer to stay at home in bed. If you did, maybe you wouldn't have such an exciting adventure!
This story is about an optimistic family and their dog who are determined to search for a bear, despite the obstacles in their way. What happens when they finally meet the bear? You'll have to read it to find out!
I recommend this brilliant story to parents and teachers of young children because, as well as being a fantastic read, it's a great book for teaching them about adjectives and prepositions: "A swirling whirling snowstorm. We can't go over it. We can't go under it. Oh no! We've got to go through it!" I also really like the illustrations by Helen Oxenbury because they help to tell the story and bring the characters to life. This is also one of my daughter's favourite bed-time stories. She's not scared...........

How about you?

Do you dare to find the bear?

When reading this book to my kids they all loved it. (Ages 3-7) Just reading the title to them and showing them the front cover were enough to raise their curiosity of what the story would contain when it was being read. They asked questions like: "Why are they hunting for a bear? Do you think they will be ok?" We're Going on a Bear Hunt does a great job of making reading out loud to your kids a thing to look forward to. Your kids will enjoy this little story as it takes you onward towards the bear.

When reading this picture book you will see that the Illustrations are colorful, lively and accurate in their support of the text at all times. The clearly defined illustrations also complement the mood and setting of the adventuring family along the changing terrain. You will notice the contrast between lighter and darker scenes as the storyline changes emotions and how they help develop the plot throughout.

Just like the illustrations, the text of the story is lively and fun to read. The themes are repetitive and easy for young ones to anticipate. (Another good thing for beginning readers) The page has text that imitates the sounds that the family makes while on the bear hunt. You will also notice that the text and Illustrations are not mixed up with the layout on the pages, thus avoiding the confusion that some books do have. The text is large enough to easily read and good for beginning readers. My oldest enjoyed reading it to his younger siblings.

Overall, I would say that We're Going on a Bear Hunt is a great way to teach your kids, in a fun way, a little about what not to do when you go on an adventure in the wild;-) It will provide plenty of good reading, laughter and silliness. I am sure you will have your little ones asking you to repeatedly read this charming, fun and well-done book.

This CD has a lot of word play, lovely vocabulary (just like the book) and lots of instructions to follow. It is very participatory.

In short, it's not a terrific toddler CD. It's simply too complicated. I think a toddler might enjoy the CD if you played it while looking at the book together. (I'm planning on getting the book to find out.) But, don't count on being able to pop it into your car's CD to entertain your two year old... unless he or she is already enamored with the story.

Get this for a child
- Who is old enough to follow somewhat abstract instructions. For example, the CD asks kids to "Move your hands to show what the following words might look like. Over. Under. Back. Up the stairs..."
- Who has enough attention span to enjoy an oral story on it's own right
- Or, who is already very familiar with the story and loves it!

What I love most about "We're Going on a Bear Hunt", by Michael Rosen, is that the adventure is being lead by a father! In this modern era, dads are often left out of the picture (or the picture book). Yet this book shows the beautiful interaction of a father and his 4 children (not to mention the family dog). All the members of the family work together to help each other during the adventure. They aren't running off it different directions, but they all have the same goal.

But where's the mother? I'm assuming dad gave her a much needed break, and she is off enjoying some quiet time somewhere. And dad used the opportunity to take the kids on an adventure!

I suppose the moral of this story could be that we need to face our issues head on instead of going around them, but when I'm reading this book with my three boys, I'm not thinking of any grand moral to be taught. I am just enjoying the time with them, as we embark on an exciting family adventure like no other!

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This story has to be one of the more exciting and fun stories for young children. The tempo and rhythm can't fail to grab a child's attention.

It's got the perfect mix of pace, suspense and humour.

A really neat touch from the illustrator (Helen Oxenbury) is the alternation between color and black and white pages. The monochrome pages coincide with the recognition of the various obstacles along the way.

Another attractive effect is the way the early pages are bright and colorful and as the family gets closer to the bear, the scenes become darker and gloomier.

A key scene is where the children's dog comes face to face with the bear. The expressions on the animal's faces are superb.

The link between the story and the illustrations is at its best when the family has to quickly retrace their steps with the bear in hot pursuit. To heighten the pace we now get three frames per page.

The penultimate page is a double spread with everybody (including the dog) safely at home under the covers. Meanwhile poor old bear heads off back to his cave.

With head down and shuffling along the beach despondently you might just think he wanted to be friends with everybody.

I have such fondness for this book--it was one of the very first books I bought my son when he was only 6 mos old and my husband and I enjoy reading it to him again and again and again, unlike Pooh's 'Who hid the Honey' (avoid THAT at all costs!). I am not naturally very animated and this books makes it easy to make him laugh and laugh. And the illustrations are truly beautiful! I practically want to crawl right in!