Where's Bear by Emily Gravett

When my three year old (not far off four!) picked up Where's Bear in the library my initial reaction was that it was too young for her but because she was insistent we bought it home. And although it is a very simple book that you could share with a much younger child it does work really well for her age too. It's a very witty book and the beauty of it is that it's so simple. 

Bear and Hare are playing hide and seek. Hare counts to ten and then starts to look for Bear. But because Bear is so big he isn't that good at hiding and Hare gets a little exasperated with how easy it is. So Hare has a go at hiding instead and proves a lot more difficult for Bear to find. There's a funny pickle of a muddle at the end with both of them ending up under a duvet and losing each other. 

What we really loved about this book is the counting (my three year old proved herself surprisingly adept at recognising numbers) and also the spacial awareness. It is very clever at helping a young child recognise how big something is and if it will fit into a space or not. The relationship between Hare and Bear is very lovingly explored too and of course Emily Gravett's illustrations are sublime. There are other books in the Bear and Hare series and we will look out for them. 

Dragon Jelly by Claire Freedman and Sue Hendra

It's been a long time since I last blogged. Everything feels like it's been going at full pelt! But we've got such a favourite book at the moment that I thought it was worth breaking out of my silence and writing about it.

It's called Dragon Jelly by Claire Freedman and Sue Hendra and is a total hit with my three year old. It's one of those deliberately-designed-to-be-disgusting books that has me gagging as I read it.

It's very simple and have a plot as such, it's a monster's birthday party and goes through the traditional birthday fun but with yucky twists. The pass the parcel is full of worms - ugh! The party tea is creepy crawly delicious and the cake is squidgy eyeballs and earwax candles.

I have to be honest, and maybe I'm some kind of delicate flower, after one reading I really wasn't keen to do another due to the stomach turning I was experiencing! But my three year old loves it so much and is currently demanding it around three times a day! So I've got past all that and we're just enjoying the endless rereading that it brings!

It's got a great rhyming text, from Claire Freedman of Aliens Love Underpants fame and fabulous illustrations from Sue Hendra of Barry the Fish with Fingers fame. Another big plus point, which I've only just discovered is that it has a free downloadable activity pack available on the Bloomsbury Books website.