Friday book review – Bears Don’t Read!
When it comes to children’s picture books Emma Chichester Clark beats the competition hands down.
Her illustrations are exquisite and witty and make readers, young and old alike, smile. I’ve bought loads of her books over the years and I can’t bear to part with a single one of them.
Emma is a prolific artist and writer and this autumn she has two new books out. There’s the wonderful Plumdog, based on Emma’s own dog (a whippet mixed with Jack Russell and poodle – or whoosell for short) and Bears Don’t Read!
Perfect for under-fives, Bears Don’t Read! Is an enchanting story about friendship, reading and books. It tells the story of George, a huge grizzly bear who suddenly realises that there’s more to life than fishing, chatting to his brothers and sisters and telling the same old stories over and over again.
When George finds a book under a tree one day he has a brilliant idea. Much to the hilarity of his family (“bears don’t read,” they say scornfully), he decides he is going to head off to the nearest town, find the owner of the book and ask them to teach him to read.
As well as being a sweet tale that children will adore, Bears Don’t Read! Is thought provoklng and fun. And I’m pretty sure that once children have read this Emma Chichester Clark book they’ll be determined to read more.
Bears Don’t Read! by Emma Chichester Clark (HarperCollins Children’s Books, £12.99)
PS. If you’re intrigued by Plumdog then don’t miss Emma’s unmissable Plumdog blog.