Bear and Bird : The Adventure and Other Stories                        

 

Jarvis
Walker Books
Age 3-7 years

This book is a delightfully written collection of four short stories about two best friends Bear and Bird. In the first story (Nothing) Bear tries to cheer Bird up when he is not well; they worry when they lose sight of each other in The Hole;  their friendship is strained when a new animal joins their friendship group in The Mole and they have imaginative fun in The Adventure.

The illustrations are very appealing and really show the characters’ emotions as they experience feelings of grumpiness and being unwell, worried, jealous or happy.

Share the story

These stories are perfect to read aloud to under-fives and also great for slightly older children gaining confidence with reading independently – you could, for example, share the reading, taking alternative pages or each being one of the characters when reading the conversations.

Talk about the story
Things you talk about can include:
The stories that you both like best.
Which you each think is the funniest bit?
The illustrations you each like?
Your favourite characters?

Talk about how bird’s feelings in the different stories – for example:
Why he is not interested in Bear’s suggestions in Nothing.
How he feels when Bear seems to have a new best friend in The Mole.

Things to make and do

Make finger puppets
Make finger puppets of the main characters, Bear and Bird https://www.lovemybooks.co.uk/make-a-finger-puppet

Act out a story
Role play the first story (Nothing) where bear tries to cheer up Bird. You could use finger puppets of Bear and Bird to tell their story.

Write a list
Write your own list of ways to cheer up bird or someone in your family who is feeling a bit unwell.

Paint a picture
Give your child paper and paint or crayons and encourage them to paint or draw a scene from their favourite Bear and Bird story.

Make up a story together
Create a new adventure for Bear and Bird and maybe Mole too together. Tell the story together prompting your child with questions such as what was their plan? Where did they go? What happened next… Scribe the story for your child so they can illustrate it. You could write it in a mini book with a line on each page then your child could illustrate their story.

Find out more

Find out more about author illustrator Jarvis 

Read more stories about Bear and Bird –
Bear and Bird: The Picnic and Other Stories
Bear and Bird: The Stars and Other stories

Jarvis talks about the first book in the Bear and Bird series here

Other books by the same writer illustrator include:
The Boy with Flowers in his Hair
Alan’s Big Scary Teeth
Mrs Mole I’m Home!