Five Bears: A Tale of Friendship

by Catherine Rayner

Bear is walking through the forest, minding his own business when he comes across another bear. The Other bear is different. The two bears wander along, thinking different thoughts, and looking in different directions. Soon the two bears come across another bear and then another bear and eventually find a bear stuck in a tree. The bears realise that perhaps they aren't that different after all and perhaps they could be friends?

Genres: Picture Books, Fiction, Childrens, Friendship, Storytime, Animals

32 pages, Hardcover

First published June 23, 2022

About the author

See also Catherine Rayner for works on the Bronte sisters

Award winning author and illustrator Catherine Rayner studied Illustration at Edinburgh College of art. She fell in love with the city and still lives there with her husband, young son and a handful of creatures: Shannon the horse, Ena the grey cat and a goldfish called Richard.

She finds huge inspiration in her pets and often uses them as models, frequently asking Ena to pose so that she can study her posture and movement. Then she translates sketches of Ena into characters such as dragons and hares, not to mention moose and bears! But it was creatures of a wilder kind that inspired her first picture book, Augustus and His Smile - Catherine spent hours and hours watching and sketching tigers (in freezing temperatures) at Edinburgh Zoo.

Winner of the 2009 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal for her second book Harris Finds His Feet, Catherine has now been shortlisted four times for the award. She was also awarded the Best New Illustrator Award at the Booktrust Early Years Awards in 2006 and was named one of Booktrust’s ten Best New Illustrators in 2008. In 2010, she was the inaugural illustrator in residence at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. In 2012 Catherine’s book Iris and Isaac won the UKLA Children’s Book Award and the Dutch edition of Solomon Crocodile has been selected as PICTURE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2014 in The Netherlands by the CPNB.

Reviews

[Mom_reading_childrens_books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary (if you care about spoilers for children's books, skip to the next section)
A bear is walking along being a bear when he meets another bear. He's wary, but the other bear just wishes him a nice day and they keep going in the same direction, at a different pace, thinking different thoughts. They meet another bear and then another and they start to enjoy each other's company, though they are still just walking in the same direction. Then they meet another bear who is stuck in a tree and help him down. They talk and realise that, though they are all different, being together feels lovely and they walk off together, talking and learning things about each other.

Illustrations
I LOVE Catherine Rayner's distinctive style

Fun factor
More aww than haha.

Is it supposed to teach children something?
Be open to friendship, even with people who are different from you. They might like you and you might like them.

Bottom line
Very sweet.

[Sue Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the colours Catherine Rayner chooses and the emotion she is able to communicate in every illustration. This story is endearing, calming and affectionate, something to go to at the end of a long day! I'd love it without the words, but the gentle and minimal conversation leads us to a stuck bear, and a stuck bear clearly needs help! When you help someone, and talk and laugh and listen with others, friendships develop, leading to a very nice day!

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

First one bear is walking, then he meets another bear! The other bear says hi, and the first bear isn't sure. "Why are you talking to me?" Just wanted to say hi and have a nice day.
So the first bear decided to follow the second. Then they meet a third, fourth, and fifth bear. None of them had bear friends before, or even knew if they liked other bears, but they found out that it was nice to be with others and share experiences together. Very sweet and simple.

[Miss Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

First one bear is walking, then he meets another bear! The other bear says hi, and the first bear isn't sure. "Why are you talking to me?" Just wanted to say hi and have a nice day.
So the first bear decided to follow the second. Then they meet a third, fourth, and fifth bear. None of them had bear friends before, or even knew if they liked other bears, but they found out that it was nice to be with others and share experiences together. Very sweet and simple.

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very amusing lesson in friendship, as first one bear meets another, then they meet a third, and so on, and all the time doubt, unfriendliness and antagonism are broken down. The brotherhood look a bit too scruffy for me to love the visuals, but it's the lesson in how easy it is to find a common ground and build camaraderie that the junior readers will take from this. An easy four stars.

[Tracy Lander · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book very much. The bears are all different and don't really speak to one another until they find Bear 5 but then they all pull together to help and realise they're all quite nice!
This is such a nice story. The illustrations are great. Lovely picture book for nursery / Ks1 children but I also know a class of KS2 who love picture books!

[Holly Wagner · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations are phenomenal. Truly. This story of making friends rings so very true especially in young elementary aged students. The bears are wary of each other yet they overcome their apprehension to be together. It would be a great "Better Together" story. I marvel at the illustrations--especially the squiggly bear. So adorable. And their eyes! Oh my.

[Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

"We are all just like each other." A neat reminder that even though we may look different and have different personalities, we really are like each other underneath. Sometimes, we may be able to help someone who is stuck... and it is okay to feel stuck sometimes.

[Lisa Gisèle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you netgalley for this ARC. I am leaving an 100% honest review.

Five bears is an adorable book about Fove Bears that look different, but realize they are not so different at all. I enjoy this story and I think it's a great book to help lead discussions on friendship community and kindness

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

6/27/2024 - Very sweet story about friendship. The only thing I didn't like was the bear names. Bear, Other Bear, Stuck/Unstuck Bear, Grunty Bear, and Very Big Bear. They're cute, but I would've liked the type of bear instead.

[Virginia · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Lillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5?

Nice illustrations, good message

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a bear lover, I appreciated everything about this book! The illustrations are delightful, the story is fun, and the language is engaging. I highly recommend as a read aloud.

[Madison · Rating 4 out of 5]

6/27/2024 -Very cute story about new friendships and helping them solve problems. Read with Momma.

[Viviana · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.9 stars

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Terrific illustrations and great concept (we do something similar with different bears in our storytimes) but the story was a little meandering and the ending didn't help.

[Alyssa Gudenburr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very cute book about five bears becoming unlikely friends. Good for storytime.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

We all need each other. This was a sweet picture book about community. We can just like each other and leave it at that.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 star. outstanding illustrations of different types of bears. kind of nice story too, although I found the ending to be a little cheesy. I liked when they helped the polar bear.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous paintings depict 5 of the world's bear species meeting each other and becoming friends. To the best of my ability, I have identified these five bears as grizzly (or Kodiak), polar, panda, sloth, and sun. The illustrations are quite large enough to share with a group of children, and would make a great addition to story times about bears or friendship.

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

really sweet with a lovely message

[Syntha Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rayner brings her wonderful whimsy and gorgeous illustrations to this lovely tale of friendship