A Brave Bear

One very, very hot day a bear cub and his father set off on a journey together through grassy areas, bushes and rocks to reach the cooling river.

A Brave Bear is a gentle and appealing story which captures a father child relationship and the fun of having an adventure together very well. Hoping to impress, the young cub doesn’t heed dad’s warnings about only doing small jumps on the rocks and slips over, luckily dad is there to provide comfort and praise for being brave. Children and parents will enjoy the affirmation of the parent/child relationship, and the security it can provide.

The repetition of phrases adds to the book’s appeal and would make this an enjoyable story to read aloud to young children. I love the ending, which is delightfully optimistic, ‘even tomorrow was glowing’…. suggesting lots more adventures and pleasure to come.

Highly acclaimed author/illustrator Emily Hughes (Wild and The Little Gardener) has interpreted Sean Taylor’s simply told story beautifully.