Bear and Chook

by Lisa Shanahan, Emma Quay

Bear and Chook are unexpected friends. Bear likes adventure, but Chook would much rather have the quiet life. One sunny day down by the pond, Chook lets himself get drawn into Bear's imaginings. With disastrous results.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Lisa Shanahan is a writer of picture books and fiction for young people who lives in Sydney, Australia.

Reviews

[Izzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so cute. I love how sweet the end is. Fun and whimsical, great for children.

[Jack Kirby and the X-man · Rating 2 out of 5]

Emma Quay's illustrations are the highlight of this book capturing the close friendship between Bear and Chook.

The text on the other hand is pretty disappointing. This is a dialogue-driven picture book with only two characters - surely Lisa Shanahan could find a better way to express who was speaking "said Bear / said Chook" at the end of every line.
"Even with a large thesaurus this limitation is very irritating" whinged Jack Kirby.
"Yes, there has to be a better way." thought X-man.
"This article explains that 'said-bookisms' distract from the story and make your text look amateurish" explained Jack.
"It did help me learn a number of new verbs" mused X-man.
"Maybe, but at the expense of a readable book - what a waste of a potentially good story!" exclaimed Jack.
"Bye Bye" declared X-man, while waving at the book.