Bear on a Bike

by Stella Blackstone, Debbie Harter (Illustrator)

Bright, colorful and educational, these chunky board books introduce preschoolers to concepts that will stay with them for life. And with sturdy pages and a high-gloss finish, the books will last almost as long -- even in the most inquisitive hands!

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

24 pages, Board Book

First published March 1, 1999

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

[Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

We love this book. Its pacing, lyricism, and images make for a perfect bedtime story. I really appreciate how Stella Blackstone blends typical scenes (i.e., a beach) with stranger images/scenes (a costume party in a castle). Collectively, they create a really interesting impression that's greater than the sum of its parts.

[Jason Pym · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing dips into really irritating rhyme, but I love Debbie Harter's illustrations, and the book is worth it just for that. There's a clue in each picture about where Bear goes next to ask the kids about. Also check out Herb the Vegetarian Dragon (also Debbie Harter and Barefoot Books) which actually has a good story.

[Isaiah Wesenberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Top 10 favorite bear book for me, and that’s saying something

[Lin · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit...#

[Darshana Khiani · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book for the rhyming text and the colorful, detailed illustrations. Every two page spreads covers a single place. The first page spread is the question page “Bear on a .. Where are you going, bear?” The second page spread is the answer page “I’m going to an ”. The second page spread is filled with so much detail, you could easily spend several minutes asking your young child to find things. My daughter’s favorite pages where the market and the beach.

Click here for the original review and activity ideas at Flowering Minds.

[Vanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son L.O.V.E.S. this book. The artowrk is amazing - there are so many words to learn from the pictures and so much to talk about. And the reading is really good too.

[A.E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 2 year-old has memorized this and pretends to read it to me - she loves the characters and the drawings, and loves to pick out the different shapes and animals on each page!

[JD Waggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a minute to figure out that this is a dialogue between the boy and the bear--there's no visual setup to clue you in on that (and no punctuation for it, either). The bear is just wandering around through various locales, each wildly colorful and interesting but not related at all. Also, Blackstone fudges the rhyme scheme in a couple of places, which threw me off.
I would definitely read this with a kid, but only if the kid specifically asked.

[Lacie · Rating 5 out of 5]

We were given the board book of this as a gift about 8 years ago when my oldest was little and it later became a favorite of my youngest too. It has gotten thrashed over the 100 or so bedtimes/story times we've put it through, but it keeps holding on. It is a cute, colorful book that rhymes. My kiddos especially love the art work, and we created a game out of finding and counting things on some of the pages.

[Dede Janzen · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter received this book from her pediatrician at one of her well child exams when she was a baby. The pictures are bright and busy. They give you lots to point out and talk about with your child. My daughter is now Two and this is still her go to book. I give it 5 stars and highly recommend it for ages babies to preschool.

[summerside · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love bear, I love this book. (PS, I like the bear's hat)

[C.M. Savage · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to read aloud to a child or for an emerging reader to read on their own.

[E · Rating 3 out of 5]

My least favorite Bear book. The more recent ones are more soothing and instructional, and they don't have the tension of bears and humans in the same realm.

[TJ & AJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The repetition makes this an easy read, and there's lots to look at in the pictures. TJ always liked the different modes of transportation.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Lovely, rhyming text and imaginative story.

[Katherine]

the bear in this book always kinds frustrated me as a child. not really sure why.

[Matt Lechel · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of our favorites. I have read this book approx 1,000 times to our 14 month old. What happens next? Is the bear an irresponsible chaperone or a responsible wizard?

[Denise Schlachtaub · Rating 5 out of 5]

An adventure book for young readers, with wonderful illustrations.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute story book about a bear going on adventures. This book was bilingual, and is perfect for adults and children learning spanish.

[Mort's Kids · Rating 3 out of 5]

As any good urbanist would tell you, happiness is a well-functioning, purpose-driven multimodal transportation network.

[Addie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silly, fun book. 2 year old liked it

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the thoughtful ryhmes!

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Appreciated the fantastical approach and slightly unusual illustrations. The doggerel is a little naff in places, but it doesn’t overstay its welcome. A solid board book.

[Julie Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

The pre k kids liked the pictures, but it was a bit long for 3-4 year olds. Cute but also where the hell was the bear going and why was the boy always chasing after him.

[Deepa · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorites, particularly for children under 2. The rhyming is pleasing and the illustrations wonderfully detailed. I also appreciate that the illustrator chose to feature a child of color as the main character in a story that could be about any child. I’ve observed that the default often seems to be a white child. This book is my favorite in the “Bear” series. I often gift it to new parents with a note about the value of also choosing books that feature main characters of color, in stories that are not explicitly about people of color.

[Library Quine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Describes the different modes of travel used by bear with his travelling companions, dog and boy. They travel by bicycle to the market, by raft to the forest, on a wagon to the prairie, by train to the seaside, by boat to an island, by balloon to a rainbow, in a carriage to a castle, and by rocket to 'whereever'!

[Portable · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stella Blackstone's brightly coloured, intricately detailed Bear series are favourites not only for their infectious rhymes, but also for the detailed and thoughtful illustrations. Lots to see and discuss in Bear's home town.

[Terra · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 2-year old girls cannot get enough of this (or all of the Bear books). This board book introduces modes of travel and adventure destinations in a great rhyming style. Colorful illustrations always offer us new things to talk about.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Colorful artwork depicting exciting scenes paired with fun, rhyming text. This is a book my daughter and I can look at together for a long while without getting bored. "Bear About Town" is my favorite Bear book, though!

[bookgoddess88 · Rating 5 out of 5]

My one year old daughter LOVES this book. It came in one of my Citrus Lane boxes and she hasn't really put it down since then. This is the first book she has asked people to read to her. Very cute and bright illustrations..