Changes

|title=Something About a Bear

|author=Jackie Morris

|publisher=Frances Lincoln Children's Books

|date=October 2014

|website=http://www.jackiemorris.co.uk/blog/

|video=Hy2O3yF3P2Y

|summary=Bear lovers look out - this book has bear overload! Eight different kinds of bears depicted in beautiful pictures that really are works of art!

}}

I'm partial to a book about bears, as I've mentioned in previous reviews, so I jumped at the chance to read this book. I could give you a couple of paragraphs just on the cover art if you like! I'm not fussy about my bears in bear books...I'm not a purist, requiring that they all look like real bears, but in this book the illustrations are really wonderfully done. Mr Bear on the cover is a delightfully serious brown bear. I have a friend who declares picture books for children with artwork like this are wasted on small children, but I'd beg to disagree. I think that it's wonderful to be able to provide your child with a range of artistic styles to enjoy and appreciate. There's a place for the [[The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson|Gruffalo]] style, or [[:Category: Richard Scarry|Richard Scarry]], but I think there's also a place for these books that are made of beautiful paintings.

I like to share a book like this, that escapes from the silly, funny rhymes and primary colours. I think it's a lovely book for bedtimes, because of the rhythm of the words and the lovely pictures to gaze at. The book finishes by saying that of all the bears in the world, the very best bear is, of course, your bear. Which I'd heartily agree with since I still have my poor, falling-apart, 39 year old teddy bear! A lovely book for quiet story times with slightly older toddlers and those in Key Stage one.

You might also enjoy reading [[The Beginner's Guide to Bears by Gillian Shields and Sebastien Braun]] or [[One True Bear by Ted Dewan]]