Bear About Town

by Stella Blackstone, Debbie Harter (Illustrator)

Watch a film, keep fit and have fun with Debbie Harter's big, kind-hearted bear on his daily walks around town! With large type, an easy-to-remember rhyming text and bold artwork, this bright and busy picture book offers an excellent way of introducing the days of the week and basic local geography. A town map at the end of the story shows where Bear has been and features clearly labeled street and place names.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, France, Storytime, Fiction, Spanish Literature

24 pages, Board Book

First published April 1, 2000

About the author

See also: Tessa Strickland

Tessa Strickland is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of independent children’s publisher Barefoot Books. As Stella Blackstone, she has written many bestselling picture books for children. As an editor, she has worked with authors and illustrators all over the world.

—from http://www.arvon.org/tutors/tessa-str...

Reviews

[Tracy Schillemore · Rating 4 out of 5]

simple text. teaches days of the week.

[Dianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

2010: My one-year-old loves these Bear books. They even caused her to say bear for the first time. The bright colors are perfect to get a baby's attention, and you will find the same few objects and patterns throughout the pages—for example, there's a black-and-white stripe motif that really gets my baby's attention.

This book would be great for older kids, too; it goes through the days of the week and also gives a map of the town at the end.

2012: Update: My baby is nearly three now and she still loves the bear books!

[Ewan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book in the world!

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, I'm in the mood for this right now. I love the bright colors, and the idea of getting out of the house and going for a good walk every day, in this cozy community. Another day I might round down to three stars because I don't like the tiny heads on the bears and the art is kinda busy for the very youngest. But this is obviously for pre-schoolers, not infants. And there's a map at the end! Kids need to learn maps!

[E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging imagery and content. Covers days of the week, various activities, and spatial skills. Love that there is a map in the back to plot the various places visited and potential routes taken. You can do a shallow fast read, or dig into the content as much as your babe's attention allows. Will hold up longer than some board books as babe grows.

[Juan Manuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great way to approach the days of the week and the places i the city. Our baby loves the Bear's adventures and the places he goes. The illustrations are colourful and engaging and we have read this book for hours. Great fun and good translations too!

[Garrett Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este bueno libro para me. El libro trata sobre un oso y el ciudad viven. Bueno palabras para me por que simplifica.

This book is a good book for me. This book is about a bear and the city he lives in. Good words for me because they are simple.

[Dara · Rating 3 out of 5]

**Read this in Portuguese, not Spanish, couldn’t find the correct edition. Would be a cute book if there weren’t somehow spelling mistakes in a book that has less than 50 words total. Like did the editor even try? 💀

[Aco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable, especially for 2 and 3 year olds. They'll think it's the most exciting thing of all.
It's about a bear that goes to a bunch of places in the neighborhood, and it has short sentences for those who are starting to learn to read.

[Shari (Shira) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Colorful concept book teaching days of the week about things in the neighborhood.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great to help when learning days of the week.

[Rory Toohey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Your bear is everywhere
Visiting the bakery,
the shops and town square

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute! Loved this short little read. The illustrations are amazing, and there is enough color to draw a child's attention and keep it.

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bear goes about life in his neighborhood!

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great bilingual English/Spanish concept book covering the days of the week and places in town. I elected to add this book to the Spanish storytelling collection and will be using it for both a Spanish and bilingual story time program about neighborhoods. (It's also a good book to introduce maps as there is a map at the end. I won't get into it for story time, but, as a lap read, it'd be a fun thing to do with your child, grandchild, or niece/nephew.)

*Update: I actually used it on October 4th and 6th for a neighborhood-themed program for Spanish and bilingual story times.

[Dena McMurdie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bear About Town is a simple, brightly illustrated book that provides kids ample opportunity to browse the pictures for things they recognize. With simple, rhyming text, it is perfect to read out loud to very young children and help them recognize different things that they might see on any given day.

The illustrations are engaging and informative. They will keep your child entertained while also being educational.

It comes it both board book and paperback formats.

More reviews on my blog: Books for Kids

[Naleni Persaud · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about kind-hearted bear who takes daily walks round town! With large type, an easy-to-remember rhyming text and bold artwork, this bright and busy picture book offers an excellent way of introducing the days of the week and basic local geography. A town map at the end of the story shows where bear has been and features clearly labelled street and place names.

This book is very enjoyable. It is easy to read and the words are easy to decode. Perfect in a Reception class. Can be read independently or read to a class. There are many activities that can be sourced from the book.

[Drew Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bear enjoys going into town, and each day he spends his time doing different activities.

This is a simple and very vibrant story about a bear and his various activities as he goes each day to town. But that's about all it is. I like the map at the end and how it includes all the places he visits, but there wasn't much to it and the illustrations didn't personally appeal to me that much. The Boy (3) likes it pretty well though, so we read it fairly often when we have it and he likes to point out a lot of the details.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

We love this book so much we might have to buy our own copy for Ellie's collection. For now, I just keep renewing it! Love, love, love the colorful illustrations showing Bear enjoying his trips into town, and the map at the end is fun to explore, too!

[Narges · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book introduced the meaning of "map" to my kid and she really enjoyed tracing the bear around the town.

[Desiree · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to be an oso.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

French edition.

[Anne Beier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Features days of the week and places in the town.

[Amy]

From the Maehls

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short but lovable story that will always be close to my heart.

[Maggie KutsBorg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bear has a routine and I can relate to that. This is a really appealing book that has a lot of replay value to the right audience.

[Jasmine Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jasmine said, "They need some water, they are sweating." lol

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love that this is a French/English bilingual book! It's super simple, so it would be good for young children and beginning French learners alike.

[Keeko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable and a fun way to learn French.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bear walks to town every day, finding something different to do each time.