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

Victor: The wolf with worries by Catherine Rayner

"Wolves are BRAVE and BIG and FIERCE. They are very wolfish! 

Wolves do not worry about anything."

"This is Victor. Victor thinks he is not wolfish enough, and he is very worried about it. 

In fact, Victor worries about pretty much everything."

Victor worries about being not being brave so he pretends to be brave but then he worries that he might actually have to DO something brave - oh no. Victor worries that he is not big enough so he tries to pretend to be big but then he worries that he might have to DO something because others think he is big - oh no! Is he fierce enough? What if he frightens the others? Pretending is not working. 

Luckily Victor has a wonderful friend named Pablo. Pablo explains the idea that a problem shared is a problem halved. So, Victor opens up to his friend about all of his worries. Pablo has other strategies. Put the worry into a bubble and blow it away. Go for a run in the forest and take your mind off things for a while. And best of all Pablo explains that everyone worries and it is actually okay.

I am slightly torn about my feelings for this book. I am a major worrier - I wonder if this book could have helped me? I applaud the possible discussions this book are sure to generate. But are the solutions to Victor's worries too simple? I do have quite strong reservations about books that warrant the label 'bibliotherapy' but perhaps that is not the appropriate label for this book. Take a look at this thoughtful article from Horn Book Magazine about bibliotherapy. 

On the other hand, I adore the art in this book and all books illustrated by Catherine Rayner. See inside this book here. Her little wolf has such an expressive face and every page turn is just a delightful experience. And some of the strategies are very appropriate to share with young child. 

Blurb: Victor the wolf has lots of worries. He worries that he isn't brave enough, that he isn't big enough and that he isn't fierce enough. In fact, Victor feels anxious about almost everything. But when Victor shares his concerns with his best friend Pablo, he starts to feel a bit better. And with Pablo's help, Victor learns even more ways to deal with those pesky worrying thoughts. And as the worries grow smaller, Victor feels a bit bigger, a bit braver, and bit fiercer inside!

There is a very subtle difference between the front and back end papers of this book. At the front we see four birds flying over a lake towards the mountains and at the back it is the same scene but three birds are further away and only is still travelling over the lake.  Does this have a deeper meaning - perhaps. I need to do more thinking. 

My friend from Kinderbookswitheverything has worked with me to create Pinterest collection of picture books about worries and anxiety with over 120 titles. Here are a couple of screen shots.

Use the label below - Catherine Rayner - to see other books I have shared on this blog. 

Bear and Rat by Christopher Cheng illustrated by Stephen Michael King

In this book we, as readers, are invited to listen to an important conversation between these two old friends. The pair engage in simple activities together, caring for one another as they move through the seasons and different landscapes. The love, patience and respect they have for each other is something to treasure and perhaps to aspire to in all our relationships. We see this pair continuing their life journey together knowing one day it will end but not today. 

This book has such a perfect pace and a comforting message. Echoing the way love is an enormous emotion, the end papers that show the enormity of the sky and the sea.  Stephen Michael King has created illustrations which are delicate and sparse. With just a few lines he is able to create such a believable relationship between Bear and Rat. The choice of a rat instead of a mouse, coupled with Bear being a Panda - and there being lots of bamboo - gives it a very Asian feel. I also love the raindrops; snowflakes; windy days and most especially the way Bear and Rat hold hands. Little Rat takes such comfort from his huge friend bear - there is a wonderful sense of trust between these two. 

Although adults will read it as a story about parting and grieving, children will not necessarily see this. This is a lovely story which explores what friendship is and what it truly means to love someone.  Whether this ‘loss’ is through death or isolation, this is a book which will help readers work through some of the issues of our current global situation, and life more generally. Sadly this book is based on real life events. 

Bear and Rat is a heartfelt, emotion-filled, tear triggering masterpiece. It explores the true meaning of friendship and love and loss and grief. But it does it in a way children will understand and relate to. Kids' Book Review

But often our children need the sort of reassurance that Rat does – that regardless of what they do or say or experience, someone will be there for them through everything because real love is unconditional and enduring. Barbara Braxton The Bottom Shelf

Bear and Rat is a 2022 CBCA Notable book. Christopher Cheng has three books listed as Notables for 2022 - Bear and Rat; Wombat and The Imagineer. 

Stephen Michael King loves to include umbrellas in his illustrations and he uses them to great effect in this book. There is one page filled with snow flakes and from our birds eye view we can see the top of the two umbrellas - one red and one yellow joined by their two hands. And on another page we can glimpse the colourful umbrellas behind the huge stand of bamboo. 

Image Source: Manning Regional Gallery

Companion books:

Up the Mountain

Ida Always

If all the world were

A Rabbit named Harris

Almost Anything by Sophy Henn

I take huge delight in reading picture books like Almost Anything. The premise seems almost obvious. Has any other picture book author thought of this idea? Belief in special magic, shared by a wise elder, can give you the courage to try new things.

Little George the rabbit has huge doubts. He thinks he is a failure or he has fear of failure so he declines every invitation by his forest friends. No he won't try kite flying. He won't dance or roller skate. He is certain he cannot paint or even play a game of skittles. While everyone is busy with "this and that" George did nothing.

A wise old bear observes the scene. The bear takes a piece of paper and folds it:

"For you,' said Bear as she handed him a small paper hat. 'It's magic.' 
'Really?' asked George.
'Really,' said Bear. 'If you wear this hat, I'm quite sure you will be able to do almost anything, even roller skating."

George puts the hat on and tries roller skating but he is just too wobbly. Bear reassures George that he can ride those skates he just needs to give the magic a little more time to work. This is all the encouragement he needs. George preservers and after a little more practice he finds he can roller skate. This gives him the courage to try other things like dancing, painting, reading, knitting and even a game of chess. Keen eyes will notice something though. The hat is gone!  What will George do now? Can Bear step in and offer more gentle wisdom - of course she can.

This is the first time I have encountered Sophy Henn but I now discover she has an impressive body of work including board books and other titles for preschool children.  Take a look at this review where you can see inside this book.  Almost Anything has been short listed (see image below for all the shot listed titles) for Oscar's Book Prize (2019) which is a UK prize awarded to the best preschool book of the year. The winner for 2019 was How to be a Lion by Ed Vere. Click the title to see a video of the book and watch out for the word meandering - how wonderful to see this use of vocabulary in a book designed for the youngest readers. I am keen to check out more of these short listed titles.