and horse rides with May.
He eats burgers with Billy
and jelly with Jay.
With Lee Wu he's a pirate,
with Kevin a king.
And Callum and Clare
push him high on the swing.
He bounces with Bev
and does handstands with Holly."
Everywhere Bear is a very busy guy! It is his lot to go home every weekend with a child from Class One. While there, he takes part in whatever the family chooses to do in the time they have with him. He, like bears in other early years classrooms, comes back to school on Monday. His weekend caregiver then regales classmates with pictures and an accounting of the weekend's adventure. Such bears may be the impetus for show-and-tell, or travel with a diary in which the family weekend is described in print, or even be a listening pal while early readers are practicing reading skills using classroom books they have borrowed.
Matt is new to Class One. It's his turn to take Everywhere Bear home. While returning to school with Bear in his backpack, Matt bends to give a wee striped kitten a pat. Bear falls out and into a puddle, leading to the adventure of a lifetime. We are privy to all that is happening to Bear, as Matt is opening his backpack at school and wondering about Bear's whereabouts.
The adventure is unprecedented for the furry boy. He has never seen so many places, smelled so many smells, been handled by so many creatures. Who knew that he would eventually end up in a perfect place, bringing joy to some familiar faces?
This is one of those books that I will be putting on my granddaughters' keepers shelf. I know they will love knowing Everywhere Bear's story and will definitely want to do some talking about all that they see on the beautifully illustrated spreads. Julia Donaldson and Rebecca Cole are a perfect pair to tell this tale that not only focuses on the bear, but also on the children and their interests, the classroom and its welcoming spirit, the people who work to make their community vibrant, and to visit a very special gathering place that has always been a haven for those who love to read and learn.
Back at school after their weekly visit to the town's library, the children are listening to the last story of the day. Bear looks on, thinking about his own personal adventure that led him right back to this place.
"I've been in a puddle, I've been in a drain.
I've been in a boat and I've been in a crane.,
I've been in a shop and I've been on a skip.
I've been on a lorry, I've been on a tip.
I've been in a beak and I've been in the air.
No wonder they call me the Everywhere Bear!"
No comments:
Post a Comment