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Gotcha!
When Bertha Bear's birthday party is interrupted by a pesky fly, she races off in pursuit of it and disturbs a number of animals along the way.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
1 person is currently reading
28 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 10, 2017
A fun slapstick frolic as Bertha chases a beastly black fly. The words are fun and playful, the illustrations happy and well-realised, fully integrated into the story. In the best picture books the illustrations ARE part of the story, conveying much of the plot, motivations, and expressiveness.
This book is one of those. A lot of fun for shared reading aloud, or independent early reading.
This book is one of those. A lot of fun for shared reading aloud, or independent early reading.
September 22, 2013
I picked "Gotcha!" as my read-aloud book because there was never a dull moment reading through it! The illustrations are entertaining, the characters are exciting, and the dialogue makes for a great read-aloud! The sentences are made up of words such as "SWAT", "buzz," "GOTCHA," "CRACK," "WACK," "WALLOP," and "Grrr." These are great words that are fun to say aloud and they engage the class full of elementary school students. At some points I would even suggest letting the children say the words out loud as they become comfortable with the book. The plot is a very easy one to follow and it is a short and predictable book as well. This makes it a good read aloud because children can just simply be entertained without being confused or overwhelmed. Bears are the main characters in this story. Bertha, the bear, is having a birthday party and a fly lands on her birthday cake. Bertha travels on an adventure to try and capture this pesky fly. Along the way, Bertha meets a camel, crocodile, stork, and tortoise. The fly is still around at the end of the story, which I think will make the children laugh. The fly is still buzzing around on the last page and the expression on the bear's face is silly. All of the animals make for fun animal sounds to read aloud as well. I don't think it would be as entertaining if the main characters were humans!
March 22, 2013
Looking for a story for a "Pesky Flies" library hour? Get your hands on this book about Bertha the Bear and her troubles with the little black buzzing pest.
On the first page introduce Bertha (who is seated with a bevvy of bear friends under a birthday banner). Commence singing "Happy Birthday" to Bertha-- your story time guests will join in.
Turn the page. There is Bertha, poised to cut the first slice of cake. All her friends are holding their plates at the ready.
Turn the page. There is a (you guessed it) big, black, beastly fly!
Bertha makes a grab for it, saying "GOTCHA!" (clap your hands and invite the children to do so as you say "GOTCHA!" and clap again). "MISSED!" buzzes the fly. (put your thumbs to your ears and wiggle your fingers, while saying "MISSED!")
The book is big enough to prop on one's lap, leaving both hands free to do some "Going on a Fly Hunt" actions as the chase proceeds over fields, through streams, over logs, through swamps and tall reeds, over rocks, all the way back to where it all began.
Cake anyone?
On the first page introduce Bertha (who is seated with a bevvy of bear friends under a birthday banner). Commence singing "Happy Birthday" to Bertha-- your story time guests will join in.
Turn the page. There is Bertha, poised to cut the first slice of cake. All her friends are holding their plates at the ready.
Turn the page. There is a (you guessed it) big, black, beastly fly!
Bertha makes a grab for it, saying "GOTCHA!" (clap your hands and invite the children to do so as you say "GOTCHA!" and clap again). "MISSED!" buzzes the fly. (put your thumbs to your ears and wiggle your fingers, while saying "MISSED!")
The book is big enough to prop on one's lap, leaving both hands free to do some "Going on a Fly Hunt" actions as the chase proceeds over fields, through streams, over logs, through swamps and tall reeds, over rocks, all the way back to where it all began.
Cake anyone?
December 28, 2015
This book was read for Wesley’s summer reading club. Wesley is my (soon to be five year old) son. This review is what we used for his reading club.
***
Afternoon reading was a little hard (someone had trouble focusing). But, this was a cute story that went by pretty quickly.
***
Afternoon reading was a little hard (someone had trouble focusing). But, this was a cute story that went by pretty quickly.
September 3, 2013
This is a good book to bring humor into the story. Every time the bear yells gotcha I imagine a class full of preschoolers laughing. Besides that, the storyline has some repetition and could be used for predicting.
January 3, 2010
I read this one to my nephew who loved the fact that I grabbed him when I said "Gotcha" throughout the book. Other than that though, he seemed fairly uninterested in the storyline.
April 10, 2011
This book is a bout a picnic birthday that goes horribly from pesky flies. This book is a great read for emergent readers in pre-k to first grade to practice independent reading.
April 20, 2011
About a family of bears that are going to have a birthday cake when a fly flew by. The bears kept trying to catch the fly.
October 26, 2011
When Bertha Bear's birthday party is interrupted by a pesky fly, she races off in pursuit of it and disturbs a number of animals along the way.
July 9, 2012
Who would have thought that a big, black, Beastly fly could lead to a few new friends.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews