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This week’s book review is all about The Best Kind of Bear by Greg Gormley. It was published by Nosy Crow on 3rd October 2019 and it can be published on Amazon*.
When Nelly asks Bear what kind of bear he is, he isn’t entirely sure how to answer. So off he goes to find out . . . But none of the different bears he meets on his travels are like him. Grizzly bears don’t have funny stitches; polar bears don’t have washing labels attached to their bottoms; spectacled bears are simply not as soft and bouncy as him; and sunbears never wear smart bow-ties. So, disheartened, he returns to Nelly . . . only to discover EXACTLY what kind of bear he is after all – her own special bear!
The Best Kind Of Bear focuses on Bear, who we meet in a library for the first time. He’s busy reading lots of books when a little girl called Nelly asks what kind of bear he is. Bear doesn’t really know though and this sets him off on an adventure to figure that out.
Bear’s adventure sees him meet all different kinds of bear, who he hopes are just like him. Each new bear shows Bear something different and introduces him to different kinds of things that he might like. The illustrations throughout are really cute and fun and the bears all look really friendly. The pages aren’t massively full of images or words and there’s some nice space to make sure everything can be seen.
Figuring out who they are can be a really big and scary thing for children. There’s a lot to figure out in life and we are already getting questions from Erin who is nearly 4 about other people and why they are different to her. I really liked that bears were used in this book as there are quite a few different kinds and they all have something great about them.
Greg Gormley has written a really lovely book to help children accept themselves exactly as they are. It’s okay to realise that you’re not the same as everyone else and it’s okay to be curious. The Best Kind Of Bear is such a warming and positive story of self-acceptance.
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