So Far Up

by Susanne Straßer

Bear can't reach the cake he's after--it's so far up, and he's so far down! Will his friends be able to help?

Toddlers will be drawn in by repetition, opposites, humor, and an unexpected twist in this board book story about Bear's quest to reach a cake on a windowsill that is so far up ! A cast of friendly animals--who are all so far down --try to help bear reach the desired cake. But what happens when a child swoops in with other plans? Short, simple, and memorable, this board book offers a satisfying story arc.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Storytime, Food, Spanish Literature

22 pages, Board Book

Published January 9, 2018

About the author

Susanne Straßer (born 1976 in Erding, Bavaria) is a German author and illustrator of children's books.

Reviews

[Juan Carlos malik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro álbum para los más pequeños de la casa que ayuda a entender el trabajo en equipo y el ser compartidos. 🥰🥰

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The heights we go for cake. ;)

[T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mooi in de eenvoud. Peuterboek.

[Laura Luann]

Preschool favorite!

[Baby Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review was originally written for The Baby Bookworm. Visit us for new picture books reviews daily!

Hello, friends! We have a two-for-one review today! Our books were So Far Up and So Light, So Heavy by Susanne Strasser, two cleverly fun board books of opposites.

In So Far Up, a bear happens upon a tower with a yummy pie in the window at the top. Bear would love to have some pie, but it is SO far up, and he is so far down. Enlisting the help of a few more animals as they happen along, Bear tried to build a tower of his friends to reach the pie – with mixed results. In So Light, So Heavy, Elephant would very much like to play on the teeter totter at the playground. The only problem is that he is simply too heavy, and none of the other animals can lift his side off the ground – even combined! What is an elephant to do?

These were great! Using an excellent mix of comedic narrative and repetition, and some charmingly cute visuals, each book did a great job of presenting the “opposite” it was centered around. There’s a funny little twist in the ending of each, and these were overall as entertaining and engaging as they were informative – perfect for teaching little readers. By the end of each, JJ was able to recite “so far up!” and “soooo heavy!” with me, and was eager to read through them both again after we were done. They’re short reads, perfect for even the youngest bookworms, and we enjoyed them a lot. Definitely Baby Bookworm approved!

(Note: Copies of these books were provided to The Baby Bookworm in exchange for an honest review.)

Be sure to check out The Baby Bookworm for more reviews!

[Fernanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

comprei esse livro pra dar de presente pra minha pseudo sobrinha e como não veio lacrado no plastiquinho aproveitei pra ler também...

fiquei super investida com passarinho nos fios elétricos e eu também faria uma escada com todos os meus amigos para poder comer um bolo gostoso

arte muito fofa, os animais super fofinhos e adorei o uso do espaço, história bem pra bebêzinho, pra aprender sobre os animais (e a importância de um bolo gostoso)

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Susanne Strasser is fabulous! Both of her boardbooks are fantastically popular in our house. We have to read them both multiple times each night. The repetition is wonderful and the subject simple enough to understand, while also including a lovely dose of humor and wonder. Berry actually started repeating most of the book so we could read "together". <3

[Sonja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a cute board book! Shows children that getting along and helping each other, benefits all! Loved it!

[Kasumi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es entretenido y sirve para reforzar el aprendizaje de los nombres de los animales cuyo objetivo no es muy noble, pero sí la enseñanza final cuando el niño decide compartir con todos el pastel.

[Celina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leuk stapelverhaal.

[A. Hadessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Niedliche Geschichte 😄 Zusammenhalt und Teilen

[Andrés · Rating 2 out of 5]

An animal teamwork story (2018), with a more charitable outcome than Mine! (2023) by Candace Fleming. Illustrations are ok; animal stacking follows a pretty logical order, despite the impossibility of it all.

[Hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

Baraboo Library in WI

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an "immediately read again" request.

[Daniel Souza Luz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Li numa sala de espera. Não me encantei muito, mas sou adulto e, portanto, o livro não é para mim. Um amigo me disse que o filho adora este livro e é isso que importa. Eu gostei do detalhe do passarinho que vai se aproximando da cereja do bolo; é bem sutil.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bear has a weird group of friends...but at least they all get cake in the end.

[Jessica López-Barkl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been attempting to master Spanish and teach Zia (my daughter) to speak in both languages. I found some blog that said this was one of the top Spanish Language Children's Board Books.

I didn't love it, at first, but it's brilliance has revealed itself to me, overtime. This is predictable book, where the child can start to understand patterns and the fact that the animals can't reach the cake in the window, without helping one another.

The board book is tall, and this helps with the concept for the child to learn. I have noticed that Zia really loves the pattern, and the height of the book. Also, my re-reading it over and over, has created more fluidity in my Spanish reading aloud skills.

[Lisset · Rating 5 out of 5]

Today I am going to read you a book called "So Far up" by Susanne Straber. This story is about a bear who is very hungry. One day, he spies a delicious cake cooling on a windowsill but there is a problem. Since the cake is so far up, and the bear is so far down, he can't reach it. We are going to find out how the bear gets a hold of this delicious cake.

An endearing story to talk about collaboration and encourage teamwork among the children.

[Feline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sinds we deze van de bieb hebben geleend, wil ik hem steeds opnieuw voorgelezen krijgen! Een langwerpig boek over een beer die een taart ziet, boven in een hoog huis. 'Maar de taart is helemaal boven, en de beer is helemaal beneden.' Met veel herhaling, op de manier die zo goed werkt in boeken voor kleine kinderen.

[Raquel Pilar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bem lá no alto tem um bolo e o urso olha para o doce, mas não consegue alcançá-lo!
Outros animais também avistam a mesma coisa e um sobe em cima do outro para poderem chegar até o bolo, mas.... uma criança pega o bolo, fecha a janela e... compartilha com todos os animais lá embaixo! 😊
Um livro de repetição super gostosinho de ler com as crianças mais novas! <3

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whimsical illustrations depict the animals' facial expressions. Cumulative text featuring plenty of repetition for beginning readers. Tall boardbook is perfectly designed for a book about "the cake that is so high."

[Hannah Rocco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Li em português, mas não tem ele aqui no Good Reads
Recebemos pela A Taba no mês de agosto.
O Arthur gostou bastante, ainda mais das ilustrações.
Tem animais e bolo, tudo o que ele gosta.
Irei procurar outros livros dessa ilustradora / autora.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book because the pig stacked onto bear, and I think there's a turtle, but then they fell. The child has a cake ready, it's a trap, because she takes the cake, like "Ha ha, you can't get the cake." But then she [spoiler alert] came out the door.

[RosaDG · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple story where the simplicity of its text and its images reveal a surprising ending.

Istorio sinplea, non bere testuaren eta irudien soiltasunak amaiera harrigarria erakusten duen.

Un sencillo cuento donde la sencillez de su texto y sus imágenes nos descubren un sorprendente final.

[Kate M. Colby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack borrowed this book from the Ashland Public Library.

I picked it because he loves animals and cake, but he wasn't super interested in the book. His favorite part was seeing the pig and then making pig noises with me.

[Mehsi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Een geinig boek, maar de herhalende tekst werd vervelend.

[Mfoot]

Le gâteau perché tout là-haut

[Jennifer B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute! The thieving animals are very cheeky, but who can blame them when it comes to delicious pie?

[Anna Smithberger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute.

[kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty cute, good toddler book