Old Bear and Friends is a popular series of children's books written by British author and illustrator Jane Hissey. The books became the basis for a BAFTA award-winning television series Old Bear Stories. Possibly this is a very bad idea for reasons I don't know enough to consider. Possibly someone will even point out the flaws to me. But maybe a children's imprint will do such a thing someday. Isn't it pretty to think so? Rabbit's cousin: female cousin of Rabbit, who occasionally stayed with the toys. She wore a straw hat, and seemed to like to cause mischief, and didn’t like cleaning.

Jolly Tall: a toy giraffe who despite his height didn’t like heights - he said his head thought it was high enough already. Bound volumes of comic books often include pictures of the art in progress. Wouldn't it be awesome if illustrators of picture books for children would document their process like that? It would be annoying and time consuming just figuring out the process if one were trying for consistency, I get that. But even small low-quality snapshots taken more-or-less at random would be neat. Bob Ross is perennially popular for more than his reassuring commentary. Unlike sausage, it's very cool to see art being created. And what a boon it would be for the chronically-underfunded art departments of most public schools. The text is in a bold font with the dream portions featured in different colors. Henkes uses few, but well chosen words to tell the story of Old Bear. Watercolor paints and ink were used to create the art. Henkes' illustrations feature a fat and happy Bear who has fantastic, colorful dreams of himself as a cub.Hoot— a female white toy owl who lives in the loft. She is the only one of the toys who can fly. She is sensible, kind and motherly and likes to look after the "younger" characters. Hoot sleeps all day in her nest on top of the wardrobe (unless someone needs to be rescued when she leaps into action). At night, however, when everyone else is asleep, Hoot is awake and busy. No one is really sure what she does, but if anything is missing in the morning it may be because Hoot has tidied it away in the night! [13] Only rarely when one is reading aloud does one have the opportunity to really look. So I like this better than I did the first time through. Yes, the text is simple and straightforward, but it's hard to be simple without becoming simplistic. This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Camel: a toy camel who was almost as tall as Jolly Tall. Once tried to use Little Bear's trousers as hump warmers.

This book, with all its simplicity and sweetness, will place the reader right into Old Bear's dreams with that surrealistic feeling that we so often feel while we are sleeping. The fantasy illustrations are the highlight of this book. Children will enjoy this old bear. It should make a good read-aloud. My favorite illustrations include young bear in Spring and in Winter, the four panel look at Old Bear asleep, and Old Bear emerging into spring in full bloom. Bramwell Brown— a wise brown teddy bear, often considered second to Old Bear and the leader of the animals in Old Bear's absence. He is practical and is always making and mending things, cooking, knitting and sewing. He often has useful ideas and helpful suggestions. [3]Old Bear— an old dusty teddy bear, Old Bear is the sensible one who likes to sort out problems and keep everyone happy. He likes to look after all the other toys and loves reading them a bedtime story at the end of the day. [1] Old Bear is based on a real teddy bear the author, Jane, received from her grandmother when she was a baby. [2]

Old Bear: an elderly dusty teddy bear, he was put up in the attic when he reached an advanced age, but was rescued by the other toys. They now looked up to him as a fearless, yet wise, leader. Ruff— a bouncy toy dog. He is fun to play with but sometimes can muddle up games by being a little too bouncy. He does have to be careful not to leave muddy footprints everywhere. [14]Old Bear" is a fun, explorative book for young children, telling the story of a bear, dreaming about the passing of multiple seasons, including winter, spring, fall, and summer, that leaves the reader questioning how the bear will react when he wakes up -- will he be disappointed in what he sees outside, or ecstatic? What will await his eyes when he awakes? I do love Kevin Henkes books. They are so simple on the surface - nice clear and sweet illustrations with beautiful colors and cute characters. My favorite part is the rich colors in each of the season (and I also love Old Bear's character design - cute ears!). It's an easy text for my story time crowd to follow, and a basic story about a dreaming bear and the seasons he enjoys.