A Bear Named Bjorn

In a series of six illustrated short stories we meet Bjorn who lives in the forest with his animal friends. Each story relates a charming anecdote, through which we find out about the ups and downs of Bjorn’s life alongside the human world.

There are days when the animals do nothing much at all and others when they are very busy, for example ‘borrowing’ clothes from a campsite, dressing up as humans and having a carnival – with music, dancing, blueberry tart and fleas (!) to eat. There is the time Bear struggles to find just the right present for his young human friend and the time he realises free gifts can be problematic when they arrive sofa size and fill up his cave. On another occasion Bjorn finds out his eyesight isn’t as good as he thought, and he may need glasses. The final story of the collection fittingly shows Bjorn getting ready for hibernation ensuring he is well fed with a good layer of body fat to see him through the winter months.

With echoes of Winnie the Pooh, this is a delightful book of engaging, illustrated short stories told with warmth and humour. The book is beautifully presented on mint green paper with the author’s own line drawings perfectly illustrating each page. Although the block capitals may worry some educators, the delicate light font works very well in the highly attractive overall design.

Already a prize-winning book, this translation from the original French is published by Gekko Press.