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.