The Everywhere Bear

Do you know? As the mum of a nearly 3 year old boy, I’m not the biggest fan of Julia Donaldson books. I think his nursery ruined it for us because they did the gruffalo to death & ended up frightening him to death, with that every Julia Donaldson book has some kind of ref to said character whether it’s a sticker on the front or buscuits shaped like it in cake shops & therefore takes him right back to his fear of it & you may as well be reading it backwards because he’s not listening. That doesn’t take away from her much loved books & popularity. Because this month at nursery, they are celebrating Julia Donaldson, i thought I’d prepare the boy by buying a few other books (he is a huge fan of the highway rat & the ladybird heard) by the author including ones with illustrations that are different to those in the gruffalo. I have to say, this book is beautifully written & illustrated. my boy sat thoroughly enjoying it before bed this evening & I enjoyed reading it. I have no doubt that nursery will stick to the obvious choices when it comes down to it but I’m really pleased I purchased this anyway. It’s such a nice change & refreshing to read.

My daughters aged 4 and nearly 7 love this book although not quite as much as I do! The poetic narrative from Julia Donaldson is first class as usual, I love the way she lists the names of all the children in the class to sound like poetry, then goes on to tell the adventures of the Everywhere Bear that would be so topical for so many school children across the country... until he falls out of the little boy's bag that is! It's Rebecca Cobb's illustrations however that really touched me. They are absolutely beautiful, capturing childhood perfectly and make this book such a compelling read for little ones (and me!). Julia and Rebecca can do no wrong in my eyes, just like the Paper Dolls, this book is a real must for every child's bookshelf.

The book had pages missing. It began well into the story.. on the page that has "Give me two boxes" said old Mrs. Bishop. This is part way into the story, and does not explain the premise that the "Everywhere Bear" lives in a classroom and that the children get to take the bear home... nor does it explain that the bear falls from a childs backpack on his way home. I was able to glean that information only by reading through.While there is no physical evidence of pages lost or torn out.. the pages are simply NOT THERE. When I reviewed the pages online, while it does not show all pages, I was able to see at least one of the missing pages.. in additon the intro or "Title page" is simply not there. That was the first key for me.. but then in attempting to read this to my grandaughter... it became very clear that the book is incomplete. Please let me know how I should deal with this.. given the fact that I am currently reading stories to my grandaughter over video linkage, due to the "Stay at home!" order.... and the item arrived with several others. The other two (2) books appear to be fine. Please let me know asap what I should do.

Has everything my toddler likes.. cats, drains, puddles, diggers, seagulls, bins and skips! 👍😊 Just a shame it wasn't a bin lorry as that would've made more sense and been more appreciated by my little bin enthusiast! Lol. I found the story a but frustrating and unrealistic but then it's not really for me! 🙄

Bought this for my son as my daughter loves the Paper Dolls by the same author and illustrator. Story not as good and a bit scary (for my 3 year old) with the poor bear getting lost, washed away, picked up by a bird and taken to a tip but a happy ending of course and diverse range of characters which is sometimes hard to find.