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Life in the Wild
Big Bear Hug
A huge bear is wandering through the forest - but wait a minute! Who's that he's hugging? A beaver? And a moose? And a bird? And a tree?
Welcome to the world of Big Bear Hug, a contemporary fable about a bear who has an appetite for hugging everything in sight - even creatures that bears have been known to eat. One day, the benevolent bear meets up with a human. This human proceeds to do something the bear cannot understand: he raises his axe and begins to cut down a tree. Suddenly the bear doesn't feel like hugging anymore and must make a difficult decision on how to stop this destruction in his forest.
The environmental message of Big Bear Hug is both funny and powerful, while simple enough to engage very young children and show them the awesome power of a hug.
Welcome to the world of Big Bear Hug, a contemporary fable about a bear who has an appetite for hugging everything in sight - even creatures that bears have been known to eat. One day, the benevolent bear meets up with a human. This human proceeds to do something the bear cannot understand: he raises his axe and begins to cut down a tree. Suddenly the bear doesn't feel like hugging anymore and must make a difficult decision on how to stop this destruction in his forest.
The environmental message of Big Bear Hug is both funny and powerful, while simple enough to engage very young children and show them the awesome power of a hug.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2006
16 people are currently reading
477 people want to read
About the author
Nicholas Oldland
20 books43 followersNicholas Oldland earned a degree in Fine Arts at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, Canada and enjoyed success as a commercial artist and filmmaker before taking up the role of Creative Director at Hatley, a popular apparel company.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 200 reviews
November 20, 2018
The favorite activity of this loveable and kind-hearted bear is hugging. And his favorite things to hug are trees. He loves trees. But one day he sees a man with an axe who wants not to hug but to cut down a tree…
Big Bear Hug is a thoughtful and funny modern tale. Highly recommended!
Big Bear Hug is a thoughtful and funny modern tale. Highly recommended!
October 13, 2016
I like kids' books because I don't have to pretend to be an adult when I read them.
I first read Big Bear Hug during one of the happiest moments of my life - traveling and sightseeing Edmonton and Jasper with my ex-girlfriend, her Australian-doctor cousin, and his doctor-colleague-friend who flew up from down-under to visit Jasper.
At that time, it was a sweet sappy story, and we bought it on a whim. The strong environmental message and the cute repetition drew me in, but what touched me was how happy the book reads.
It's been more than a year since I last saw this book. It was hidden under piles of paperwork; I didn't even know I still had it. Suffice it to say, the breakup didn't go very well: extreme awkwardness punctuated by anger, pettyness, sadness, and despair.
I read this book as I pack up the entirety of my apartment and shed myself of everything that remind me of the past relationship in preparation for a four-day journey from Toronto to Vancouver via rail. I've thrown away everything - clothing, gifts, cards, photos, cute messages and various detritus of a well-lived but now extinguished five years. And I find that there isn't much left in my heart.
This book reignites the love and happiness of that moment and brings everything back into focus. If there is one thing I keep from these years, it is the message in this book. To cherish the love in myself, and to never let that light go dark. It's not in my nature, and as hard as I try, I can't stay mad.
Sometimes kids' books are too optimistic, too light, too fluffy. This book reaches for the far extremities of happiness and love. It's so cute, so optimistic, so light, so fluffy.
And it shot the moon.
I love this book. Read it to yourself, read it to your kids. I know I will read it to my kids one day.
I first read Big Bear Hug during one of the happiest moments of my life - traveling and sightseeing Edmonton and Jasper with my ex-girlfriend, her Australian-doctor cousin, and his doctor-colleague-friend who flew up from down-under to visit Jasper.
At that time, it was a sweet sappy story, and we bought it on a whim. The strong environmental message and the cute repetition drew me in, but what touched me was how happy the book reads.
It's been more than a year since I last saw this book. It was hidden under piles of paperwork; I didn't even know I still had it. Suffice it to say, the breakup didn't go very well: extreme awkwardness punctuated by anger, pettyness, sadness, and despair.
I read this book as I pack up the entirety of my apartment and shed myself of everything that remind me of the past relationship in preparation for a four-day journey from Toronto to Vancouver via rail. I've thrown away everything - clothing, gifts, cards, photos, cute messages and various detritus of a well-lived but now extinguished five years. And I find that there isn't much left in my heart.
This book reignites the love and happiness of that moment and brings everything back into focus. If there is one thing I keep from these years, it is the message in this book. To cherish the love in myself, and to never let that light go dark. It's not in my nature, and as hard as I try, I can't stay mad.
Sometimes kids' books are too optimistic, too light, too fluffy. This book reaches for the far extremities of happiness and love. It's so cute, so optimistic, so light, so fluffy.
And it shot the moon.
I love this book. Read it to yourself, read it to your kids. I know I will read it to my kids one day.
February 8, 2010
Oh, I laughed my way through most of this book because the expressions on the faces of the hug recipients were just too funny and the bear was just so hilariously eager to give affection, welcomed or not, and at one point to both a beaver and a tree at the same time.
I waited for a long, long time for my library to have this book available for borrowing. It was well worth the wait.
It’s very message heavy I suppose, but I like the message so I didn’t mind as much as I might have in other circumstances. Also, the bear is so cute, the story and illustrations are so funny, and I really liked all the illustrations too; I found them very aesthetically pleasing.
This is a great book for gift giving! It’s also a great read aloud book, and will entertain the adults as much as the kids. This is a book I’d love to own.
I waited for a long, long time for my library to have this book available for borrowing. It was well worth the wait.
It’s very message heavy I suppose, but I like the message so I didn’t mind as much as I might have in other circumstances. Also, the bear is so cute, the story and illustrations are so funny, and I really liked all the illustrations too; I found them very aesthetically pleasing.
This is a great book for gift giving! It’s also a great read aloud book, and will entertain the adults as much as the kids. This is a book I’d love to own.
March 5, 2019
Our library has a bunch of e-books from this series, so I thought I'd give one a try. This is actually a really cute story about a bear who loves to hug. But when he encounters a human who wants to chop down one of his beloved trees, suddenly he doesn't feel much like hugging anymore.
The story is simple and kind of goofy, with the bear going around hugging all sorts of critters to show his love. His favourite things to hug, though, are trees. One day, he sees a human enter the woods. He follows the man until he comes to one of the biggest trees in the forest. The man stares at the tree for so long that the bear think he must love trees, too. But then, to the bear's horror, the man takes out an axe and starts chopping. Let's just say, don't cross an environmentalist bear.
Actually, the story then takes an unexpected turn, and the bear demonstrates some pretty admirable behaviour (perhaps to show how the wisdom of nature can often be superior to our own selfish, short-sighted thinking). The resolution is nonsensical, but so is the idea of a bear going around hugging his traditional foodstuffs.
I think I need to try some of the other books in this series. If they're as cute as this one, then I'll probably enjoy them, too.
Quotable moment:
The story is simple and kind of goofy, with the bear going around hugging all sorts of critters to show his love. His favourite things to hug, though, are trees. One day, he sees a human enter the woods. He follows the man until he comes to one of the biggest trees in the forest. The man stares at the tree for so long that the bear think he must love trees, too. But then, to the bear's horror, the man takes out an axe and starts chopping. Let's just say, don't cross an environmentalist bear.
Actually, the story then takes an unexpected turn, and the bear demonstrates some pretty admirable behaviour (perhaps to show how the wisdom of nature can often be superior to our own selfish, short-sighted thinking). The resolution is nonsensical, but so is the idea of a bear going around hugging his traditional foodstuffs.
I think I need to try some of the other books in this series. If they're as cute as this one, then I'll probably enjoy them, too.
Quotable moment:
March 15, 2010
I want to give this book a hug! It's brilliant in its simplicity-clothed depth of heart and thought. I love that this is a story that even very young children will be able to appreciate, yet it holds lessons for grown-ups, too--how to love the earth and how to channel our negative feelings when people hurt the things we love. There is an environmental message here, but it's not one of those bang-you-on-the-head type books. Thanks so much to my friends Lisa and Abigail for the recommendation which I heartily second.
September 5, 2019
Que historia tan linda, me dan ganas de salir a abrazar todos los árboles del parque.
🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻
🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻
September 7, 2020
What have we learned? Hugging is healthy and free, and don’t forget the trees - they will repay you!
January 29, 2020
"There once was a bear so filled with love and happiness that whenever he roamed the forest and came across another living thing, he would give it a hug." Yes, this was a bear that believed in spreading the love, and he'd never met a creature he didn't want to embrace, whether moose or snake. He was especially fond of the trees: big and small, apple and pear, this bear "never met a tree he didn't like." And then one day, coming upon a man about to chop down one of the oldest, tallest, and loveliest trees in the forest, the bear suddenly didn't feel like hugging anymore...
Canadian artist Nicholas Oldland's debut picture-book, Big Bear Hug reduces me to helpless giggling every time I read it. The startled (one might even say, distressed) expressions on the faces of the various creatures on the receiving end of the bear's big hugs are simply hysterical! The bear's enthusiasm - at one point he tries to hug a beaver and a tree at the same time - is delightful, and his solution to the problem of the would-be tree-chopper satisfying. A simple parable about loving the forest and its creatures, this little gem should appeal to any tree-hugger out there with a sense of humor!
Canadian artist Nicholas Oldland's debut picture-book, Big Bear Hug reduces me to helpless giggling every time I read it. The startled (one might even say, distressed) expressions on the faces of the various creatures on the receiving end of the bear's big hugs are simply hysterical! The bear's enthusiasm - at one point he tries to hug a beaver and a tree at the same time - is delightful, and his solution to the problem of the would-be tree-chopper satisfying. A simple parable about loving the forest and its creatures, this little gem should appeal to any tree-hugger out there with a sense of humor!
March 21, 2020
Un petit album qui est rapidement devenu un favori ici, autant chez la grande que chez la petite. Une histoire un brin naïve, avec un double discours, à la fois environnementaliste et jovialiste, mais peut-on vraiment être contre la vertu? Il y a ici l'idée qu'en étant fidèle à sa personnalité (mais pas nécessairement à son essence, pour le dire en termes existentialistes), on peut arriver à faire de belles et bonnes choses. Je ne vois pas ce que je pourrais reprocher à ce sous-texte.
February 11, 2017
Imagine being filled with so much love that you hugged everything around you, even the things that you usually ate. That is what bear does. He hugs everything including a little bird, a big moose, a long snake; I think you understand how much love bear has. Bears favorite things to hug are trees, lots of trees of different sizes and varieties. All is well until one day a man carrying a axe grabs the attention of bear never the forest. Bear believes the man loves trees too until he starts to destroy the tree. Bear can’t hug the man as he’s too angry but what can bear do? You’ll love the surprise happy ending and so will the kids. I enjoyed the font style and size for this picture book; bold, black and stylish. The pictures are terrific and I love the animal’s eyes. The look of astonishment on some of the animals faces, just make you smile. You have to love black bear, he truly is adorable.
May 14, 2018
This little book for young readers quickly turned into a somewhat sneaky political message. Also, newsflash -- not everyone likes to give or receive hugs. It's a nice thought, in theory; and yes, the world needs a little more love, but the notion of being a do-gooder by giving everyone a hug is not necessarily the answer, or a good thing to plant in young heads. I'm just saying...
September 28, 2010
Big Bear Hug is a short picture book with an environmental theme about a bear who loves his woods so much he hugs everything (and everyone) in them. One day he comes upon a person cutting down a tree and is faced with a dilemma of how best to defend his forest (he is a bear after all).
While this is, literally, a “tree-hugging” book in the end I thought it was far more about individualism and being true to yourself, keeping the green message clear, but not hitting readers over the head with it, or with guilt. It's cute too, and easily charmed both my children.
Good for libraries that might need a variety of themes, or parents who want to teach care of the environment without taking too hard of a line, or for kids who love animals. Big Bear Hug is one of the better quality books out there, in both content and illustrations.
While this is, literally, a “tree-hugging” book in the end I thought it was far more about individualism and being true to yourself, keeping the green message clear, but not hitting readers over the head with it, or with guilt. It's cute too, and easily charmed both my children.
Good for libraries that might need a variety of themes, or parents who want to teach care of the environment without taking too hard of a line, or for kids who love animals. Big Bear Hug is one of the better quality books out there, in both content and illustrations.
February 22, 2010
Cute story. But the words are kind of small, and the illustrations remind me of a more grown-up political-cartoon style. And the story was kind of gimmicky. For helping children see the joy and wonder of the natural world, I prefer stories like "Fall Leaves Fall" and the "The Apple Pie Tree." I agree with one reviewer who said those stories have a satisfying and organic feeling; "Big Bear Hug," for me does not. But still, it's a cute story that would be fun to read out loud with kids.
July 24, 2014
Maybe not the most timeless, transcendent picture book of all time, but the illustrations are hilarious. The animals' expressions are priceless. The ending always gets a laugh out of my 3-year-old, too.
January 7, 2020
Bear loves all living things, and he shows his love by giving them big hugs. It doesn't matter if it's a plant or an animal, Bear hugs everything! But what will happen when a man comes into the forest to chop down trees? Suddenly, Bear does NOT feel loving anymore. Can he go against his loving nature, or will his big heart prevail?
This picture book is adorable! I love the cartoony illustrations with clear lines and bright colors. I love the simple storyline that conveys deep emotions in just a few words. The Bear is a sweet character, and I love the funny expressions on the faces of the animals he hugs.
Sweet and hilarious, this book is perfect for reading with young children!
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.
This picture book is adorable! I love the cartoony illustrations with clear lines and bright colors. I love the simple storyline that conveys deep emotions in just a few words. The Bear is a sweet character, and I love the funny expressions on the faces of the animals he hugs.
Sweet and hilarious, this book is perfect for reading with young children!
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.
April 13, 2020
what do i love most about the moose, the bear and the beaver books by nicholas oldland? it's like the heralding of a trumpet - whichever grandchildren are within earshot when i open the book, come clambering onto my arms and shoulders to peer into the book and listen - it doesn't matter how many times i read this and it doesn't seem to matter if they are two or ten years old (although the ten-year- olds and over don't insist on my reading again immediately after I close the book!
(this review repeats itself on all of the moose, the bear, and the beaver books by oldland)
(this review repeats itself on all of the moose, the bear, and the beaver books by oldland)
November 11, 2017
3.5 stars
October 27, 2019
Ez annyira aranyos volt. Azon nagyon nevettem, amikor egyszerre próbálta megölelni a fát meg a hódot :)
February 3, 2021
Cute story. I laughed when reading to Rosie. I love discovering new books for Rose.
February 26, 2022
Hauska tarina, jossa omaperäinen kuvitustyyli. Meillä tykättiin kovasti.
April 23, 2024
*4.25
March 30, 2022
Cute book with pretty good illustrations. The story and the bear were pretty much amazing!
June 18, 2025
گوگولیییییی :)
February 28, 2010
You know, sometimes a simple story can stand on its own two feet. I know I've got a penchant for less-is-more. I look for Wabi Sabi in children's books, sure. And this book is no exception: here's the story of bear who loves to hug all peoples - including tree peoples. He is a tree hugging bear. Yes, he is. And since I can totally see myself hugging trees, this story makes perfect sense. But then he comes across a man...with an axe... And I shan't say more about the plot. This is the perefect read-aloud for a 3 year old (or even an attentive 2 year old). The story is focused - and the illustrations rendered in Photoshop are just detailed enough to focus your attention on the large yet non-threatening black bear. The expressions on the faces of the animals who are hug recipients are funny and memorable (and precious). I do love this book. I'm going to use it at storytime. Very soon. For earth day? For Valentine's day? -- Really, and truly, for any day.
December 8, 2009
For the littlest environmentalists, a book as silly as it is big-hearted. The bear wanders all over the place hugging stuff. Animals and trees, mostly. When he comes upon a man who starts to CUT DOWN a tree, the bear briefly considers mauling him to death before reverting to his nature (!) and hugging the guy. Who runs away, extremely unnerved.
And this bear reminds me of someone... ah! the bear in Jon Agee's Milo's Hat Trick. It's the lack of mouth, I think. In the Agee title, I tend to think the bear is telepathic. In this one, the bear is clearly mute. He just hugs stuff.
Love it.
More like this on Pink Me: http://pinkme.typepad.com
And this bear reminds me of someone... ah! the bear in Jon Agee's Milo's Hat Trick. It's the lack of mouth, I think. In the Agee title, I tend to think the bear is telepathic. In this one, the bear is clearly mute. He just hugs stuff.
Love it.
More like this on Pink Me: http://pinkme.typepad.com
May 13, 2010
In this story, we meet a giant bear so filled with love and happiness that he can’t resist giving hugs to any living thing he encounters, even skunks, snakes, birds, and moose. But giving new meaning to the phrase “tree-hugger,” the bear especially loves to hug trees! When he meets a man with an axe in the forest, he becomes very angry, and almost decides to eat the man up. But instead, he gives him a hug—sending the frightened man running away without his axe, and saving the tree. The illustrations are very comical--especially the wide-eyed expressions of the animals being hugged by the bear. A good read-aloud for earth day or environmental themed story times.
November 29, 2018
Bear loves to give hugs to any and everything, but especially to trees. When a man comes into the woods and starts to chop down a tree, bear doesn't know what to do. Or does he?
The illustrations in this are hilarious. I love the expressions of the surprised animals getting hugged. The solution to the issue is quite funny too. Read this to a little hugger or kids who like forest animals (or trees).
The illustrations in this are hilarious. I love the expressions of the surprised animals getting hugged. The solution to the issue is quite funny too. Read this to a little hugger or kids who like forest animals (or trees).
June 17, 2025
There once was a bear that loved everything so much that he would give big bear hugs. He especially loved to hug trees. One day a man came into the forest to cut down the most beautiful tree in the forest. It was then that Bear realized he could get very angry. He also knew anger would not help.
Wonderful story with enjoyable illustrations.
Wonderful story with enjoyable illustrations.
October 3, 2022
Nicholas Oldlandin "Karhu joka halasi" (Kvaliti, 2021) on lystikäs kuvakirja suurisydämisestä karhusta, joka jakelee haleja vastaan tuleville eläimille. Eniten se kuitenkin rakastaa puita. Mutta mitä tehdä, kun se eräänä päivänä törmää metsässä kirveen kanssa tallustelevaan metsuriin...?
Displaying 1 - 30 of 200 reviews