The Big Dreaming by Michael Rosen illustrated by Daniel Egneus

Following the pattern of the classic story 'Are you my mother?' Little Bear goes in search of dreams. 

"The cold was coming, and it was time to get ready for the Sleep - for bears sleep all winter long and wake in the spring. Little Bear was worried. 'Will I dream during the Sleep, Big Bear?'"

Yes, Litte Bear will dream - it is the Big Dreaming. But Little Bear is worried - what if he runs out of dreams. He decides to ask for help. 

"Do you have any spare dreams, for when we sleep, deep, deep?"

The squirrel shares a dream about happiness; the rabbit shares a dream about coming home safe; and the wolf shares a dream about always having hope.

Little Bear heads home and these dream ideas help him on his journey. The final words in this book, which is sure to become a classic, will melt your heart:

"Big Dreaming, Little Bear.' said Big Bear.

"Big Dreaming, Big Bear.' said Little Bear curling up next to him.

And so, they slept. And they dreamed ... and dreamed ... 

and dreamed  ... 

All the way to spring."

You already know the classic and very famous book by Michael Rosen We're going on a Bear Hunt. This new title (he is such a talent) is sure to be just a big a hit with your young reading companion or in your preschool. This book needs a huge sticker on the front cover with the word CLASSIC!!

This heart-warming picture book from renowned children’s writer Michael Rosen has all the elements of a modern bedtime classic. The familiar caregiver relationship between the two bears and the gentle, lyrical text make this a lovely one to snuggle up and enjoy with little ones before their own sleep. Themes of hope, perseverance and homecoming will be comforting to sleepy young listeners whilst the stunning illustrations capture the mood of the passing seasons.   Book Trust

In quiet harmony, the images and words of The Big Dreaming will console, comfort and give hope to any young bear from 3 years upwards. Just Imagine

I would pair this book with the Little Bear series by Martin Waddell beginning with this one:

You might also look for Little Cub by Olivier Dunrea.

Daniel Egneus is originally from Sweden now living in Athens. Look at his Instagram post about The Big Dreaming. And in this post he shares his preparatory sketches. 

I have previously talked about these books:

Raven Child and the Snow Witch

Lubna and Pebble

The Thing

Meet the illustrator Cate James

I borrowed some winter books from the library this week. Books filled with snow and winter animals. When I picked up Go Home, Little One! (see below for more details) I was surprised to see the name Cate James. I briefly met Cate in my local bookshop (Beachside Bookshop) a few years ago when her book Echidna had just been published. I was curious to discover more about this illustrator. 

Cate James is originally from Scotland but she came to live in Australia in 2015. I love the way her change of country is so beautifully reflected in her work. Here is an extract from her website:

Cate is an award-winning illustrator and artist based in the beautiful Northern Beaches of Sydney, Australia. She moved from Edinburgh, Scotland in 2015 and recently became an Australian citizen. She has been working as a full-time freelance illustrator since 2010, and has a background in printmaking.

Here is an interview with Cate James where she shares the inside of her studio.

Here are two of her early books:

And here are her more recent titles:

Here is a review from Kids' Book Review

Read more here

Cate has also worked on book covers for Barrington Stoke and for this series by Vivian French:

In Go Home, Little One we meet young Florence the hedgehog. It is time to snuggle inside and hibernate but Florence wants to play outside with her friends. Their game takes Florence and the twin squirrels, Harry and Barry, deep into the forest. Every animal they meet advises the trio to head home but they want to continue their game and that is fine until they meet Mr Fox! This links nicely with Cate's own favourite childhood book - Rosie's Walk by Pat Hutchins.

Little Goose's Autumn by Elli Woollard illustrated by Briony May Smith

"And one apple-red, dappled-red, breeze-blown day, 

When the goose went down to the lakeside to play,

She felt in her heart a sharp tugging pain,

Like a strange kind of longing she couldn't explain."

A little goose feels a tug at her heart but what does it mean? She knows it is now autumn so she sets off to ask the other forest animals. The beavers are chopping wood, the squirrels are gathering acorns and the bears are preparing their den for their winter sleep.

It is Autumn here in Australia so this is the prefect book to share with your young reading companion. And yes it is fairly new (2020) so it is available. I am happy to report that the rhyme used in this book works really well (sadly this is not always the case). 

See inside this book here.

I have talked about other Animal Migration and Bird Migration books on this blog. The perfect companion read to go with Little Goose's Autumn would be Lucy Goosey by Margaret Wild illustrated by Ann James.

Here is the companion volume by Elli Woollard and Briony May Smith:

Bear and Wolf by Daniel Salmieri

A young bear meets a young wolf in the winter forest. There is no suspicion, no aggression, no predator and prey - just a special meeting of two wild creatures and the forming of a new friendship.

The language in this book is utterly exquisite:

"When Bear got closer, she could see it was a young wolf.
She could see the wolf's pointy snout, smooth gray fur, golden eyes, and wet black nose.
When Wolf got closer, he could see it was a young bear.
He could see the bear's big round head, soft black fur, deep brown eyes, and wet black nose."

"Bear and Wolf smelled the wet bark of the trees and heard the small sounds the snowflakes made on their fur."

Our new friends pause to enjoy the way the snowflakes are all different, the look up and see a beautiful owl watching them and then they cross an ice lake and scrape away the snow so they can see the sleeping fish suspended below the frozen surface.

After watching the fish the pair now need to part company. Bear needs to hibernate and Wolf needs to rejoin his pack and continue the hunt.

Seasons come and go. In summer grass and leaves grow and birds return to the forest. One day our two friends meet again and they continue their walk.  "Bear and Wolf walked through the gentle breeze, using their eyes, and ears, and noses to take in the awakening woods."

When I picked up this book I flipped through a few pages and saw the beautiful pencil illustrations. You can see the fish illustration above. The illustrator has made some illustrations look like images from a colouring book. I just wanted to stroke them and feel the pencil textures.

Here is a blog post from Seven Impossible Things where you can see more of the art from this book and view a video where Daniel Salmieri talks about his book. Kirkus gave this book a star review.

His text is wonderful, but it's truly those silent moments between the bear and the wolf––when Bear and Wolf are staring at fish together, or when the two first meet––that carry most of the emotional weight of the story. Despite the dark skies and the dark fur coats, the colors are light and playful, wistfully carrying readers from page to page with horizontal line work and the forward motion of the animals themselves, who travel from left to right.  Let's talk Picture Books

Without a whiff of didacticism, Salmieri shows readers how to appreciate beauty, invite friendship, express gratitude, let go, and walk in the world. School Library Journal

I would pair this book with The Lion and the Bird.  Other reviewers have also mentioned Big Wolf and Little Wolf.

The Bear's Winter House by John Yeoman and Quentin Blake

"If you help me you can share my winter house."

Poor bear. It is time to hibernate. He wants to be comfortable through those long cold months. He finds a house plan and he is begins to build a perfect shelter.  In scenes reminiscent of The Little Red Hen, the other animals of the forest arrive and scoff!  They think his idea is silly but when winter comes they see Bear's shelter works much better than the flimsy homes where they are trying to stay warm. One at a time each of the forest animals, the squirrel, hedgehog, hen and pig, arrive at Bears winter house. Bear could turn them away but instead he says "come in".  Keep in mind Bear built this house to stay warm and to hibernate. His house is now crowded and so very very noisy. How will Bear ever get back to sleep?

Read this book on a cold winter day.  Here is a set of ideas to use with pre school children if you are exploring the idea of hibernation.  I found this list of other fiction and non fiction books on this topic. This book was first published in 1969 but my copy is from 2009 and is a larger format with a different cover. I am happy to see it is still in print.

Herman's letter by Tom Percival

One of my favourite ways to discover new books is when they are recommended by the readers in my school library.  A few weeks ago we held our annual library Donate-a-book.  A big thank you to the generous parents who supported our library in this way. We have been able to add over 800 new books into our collection.

Among these books was Herman's letter and when it was returned earlier this week I asked the little girl and her mum if they had enjoyed it.  Their answer was a resounding YES!.  The mum then turned the pages and shared her favourite parts - both especially liked the 'real' letters that form part of this story.

This book shows the way illustrations beyond the text in the best picture books.  Think about these words - "They had great fun inventing their own games and they even had a secret club with a secret code and a TOP SECRET handshake."  Now I will tell you Herman is a large brown bear and Henry is a small, red raccoon.  I adore their handshake.

Life for these special friends is good until one day Henry moves away. Henry misses his friend and so he writes letters but sadly the letters only serve to make Herman feel jealous.  Herman does not write back to Henry until this important letter arrives :

"Dear Herman
I hope you are well.  I haven't received ANY of your letters.  There must be a problem with the post or something.
I miss you so much!
You're my best friend in the whole wide world.
Please say you'll come and visit me soon.
Love Henry"

Herman does write back but then he has a terrific idea - he will deliver the letter himself.  He embarks on a long and dangerous journey made even harder by the fact that it is now time for this bear to hibernate.  The twist at the end will make you smile.  Take time to watch the trailer made by the publisher.  Here is a set of teaching ideas.

If you enjoy Herman's letter then you should also look for Toot and Puddle Wish you were here by Holly Hobbie and Christmas Bear by Sal Murdocca.