The Hide-and-Scare Bear

by Ivan Bates

A naughty bear learns an important lesson!

There once lived a naughty
and mischievous bear
who liked playing a game
he called hide-and-scare.

Then along came Rabbit, who offered advice —
a short rabbit lesson on how to be nice.

But can a little rabbit show a big bear that there is a kinder way to play?

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Friendship, Rabbits

40 pages, Hardcover

First published March 8, 2015

About the author

Ivan Bates studied illustration at Manchester Polytechnic and has illustrated many books for children, including Just You and Me by Sam McBratney, Do Like A Duck Does! by Judy Hindley, and Five Little Ducks. He lives in England.

Reviews

[Laura Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story with lively, bold and colorful illustrations. The illustrations are so good it is like watching an animated film as you turn the pages. Exceptional!

[Maddie Guthrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This children's book follows the story of Bear, who is naughty and mischievous. He loves to hide and jump out to scare his friends (Rabbit, Fox, Owl, Mouse, Squirrel, and Badger). Bear picks his nose, is horribly rude, and gobbles his food. His friends are quite tired of his silly tricks. They all meet up to discuss what to do with Bear so brave Rabbit stands up and tells everyone that she will help Bear with kindness not anger. She shows Bear what it means to be kind and how to play with others. In the end Bear thanks Rabbit for helping him and gives all of his friends big bear hugs.
I like the message behind this story and the fun it can bring to children. I would use this book in the beginning of the school year as an opener for one of my classroom rules on being kind and treating others the way you want to be treated. I could make it into an activity by teaching my students kind adjectives that they can describe their friends to be and everyone draws a name from a hat and writes a nice sentence about that person. I think this is a great way to show how this rule will go into effect in our classroom, get to know each other better, and to use as a bucket filler. This activity will show my students the positive and safe community that our classroom will become that year.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books for children I've read lately. Bear is kind of mean. Jumping out and scaring the other animals. Finally, the animals get tired of this and a bunny takes on the job of trying to get through to Bear and be nice. So sweet and the whole book is written in rhyme. A great read-aloud book. Kids will love it. The illustrations are full of detail and the animals are so adorable.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple story with fantastic illustrations about learning how to be nice instead of rude. I do worry a bit about the idea of giving hugs to everyone you meet (consent isn't mentioned or even implied at all) but the overall message is kindness. I think you could easily use this in story time and then just mention at the end that it's even more kind to ask someone before you hug them (or something like that). A solid story.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tässä Kustannus Mäkelän kustantamassa kirjassa opetellaan hyviä käytöstapoja perinteisten eläinhahmojen kautta kerrotussa tarinassa. Tämä oli itseasiassa mielestäni kovin hilpeä ja hauska. Luen kirjan uudelleen töissä lapsiryhmälle; tällainen tarina on hyvää konkretiaa käytöstapojen opettelulle ja muiden huomioimiselle.

[Donna Mork · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bear likes to hide and jump out and scare everyone. They think it's rude and want someone to stand up to him. A rabbit says maybe he just needs to be taught to be nice. So they try, and it works. He now gives bear hugs instead, which is hard to bear.

[Tapani Aulu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ärsyttävä karhu pelottelee kaikkia, kunnes jänis uskaltaa uhmata sitä. Hienot isot kuvat ja kivat riimit.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute story about learning to play nice

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Soft, beautiful illustration and enjoyable rhyme scheme. Good lesson, but a little fast and forced.

[Trevor Harmel · Rating 5 out of 5]

System of Rating

1 Star - I regret spending money on this book.
2 Stars - I wouldn’t recommend buying and probably won’t read again unless I’m desperate.
3 Stars - I’m not sure if I’d recommend buying but I get some mild enjoyment from reading it.
4 Stars - I’m happy to have this in my collection and I enjoy the story.
5 Stars - I consider this an evergreen, enjoy it profusely, and would absolutely recommend it.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bear likes to play a game he calls Hide-and-Scare. He hides and then jumps out and roars at the other animals. He thinks it’s great, they don’t. So when the forest animals have a meeting and Owl asks for ideas, Rabbit says he will teach bear how to be kind. Next time there’s a scare, Rabbit doesn’t run, he doesn’t hide, he tries something new.

The illustrations are adorable! The expressions on the animals faces are great. The text is in verse, the message about treating others kindly is right on. Maybe hugging a bully isn’t always the best answer, but it would make a great springboard in a class to teach about respecting others, dealing with bullies, solving problems without fighting, even body language. I really loved the illustrations.

Cross posted to Http://kissthebook.blogspot.com CHECK IT OUT!

[Juliana Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bear's favorite game is Hide-and-Scare. He hides behind trees and bushes, counts to three, then jumps out and scares the other forest animals. Everyone is afraid of him and they have a meeting to decide how to stop him. Only Rabbit has a plan to talk to Bear and teach him how to behave. When Bear jumps out and scares everyone away, Rabbit stays behind. Rabbit explains that kindness is a much better way to treat others. He suggests that Bear tries hugging instead of scaring. Bear tries it and it's a big success. Now everyone is happy to see Bear, although bear hugs can be a little rough sometimes!

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rhyming text and a friendly rabbit show kindness is the way to transform scary bear into hugging bear. Although a bit preachy, the author conveys the message that bear has never been taught how to act right and rabbit shows him the way. The text mentions poor behavior, such as picking your nose, gobbling food, no pleases and thank yous, and scaring people. These topics are a good stepping stone for conversations on etiquette for the preschool to kindergarten aged child. Recommended for preschool to kindergarten or whenever changing behavior is a necessity.

[Reetta Saine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ongelmanratkaisukirjoja pukkaa. Paremmasta päästä oli tämä käytöstapoihin keskittyvä karhun ja jäniksen battle. Runomuoto plussaa, vaikka se parissa kohden onnahtikin.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rude bear is taught how to be kinder by his forest pals.

[Derrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bear with bad manners just needs a patient teacher and a hug.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the illustrations! Good reminder to be nice to those you met and not to get angry at those who need a little polish and possibly just a hug.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the illustrations in this rhyming book about a brave rabbit who teaches a scary bear how to be kind to others and use good manners.

[Ayaan Shah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked when bear became nice . I learned mischievous,enthused