I am bear by Ben Bailey Smith and Sav Akyuz

Walker, 2016. ISBN 9781406359251
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Words, Individuality, Humour. A clever rhyming tale of a bear has phrases which enable children to make predictions about the words which follow, increasing their word knowledge and understanding of rhyme. With humour the bear entreats the reader to follow the story in the text as well as through the illustrations, which are bold and full of fun. Each page has the bear outlined in black, filled with colour, staring out at the reader from a position of authority. He makes statements about himself, which the readers will be able to follow in the illustrations, statements which younger children will easily learn to recognise and repeat. The opening pages make a pun on the word bear, entreating children to look at the two words, bare and bear and see how they are different, eve though they sound the same. His purple colour will be a hit, and turning the pages the children will see words to do with his love of honey, and following he tells them what he finds funny. I love the next pages showing the bear in a huge cape while we hear of his love of magic and tricks that he can do. I can imagine younger children shrieking with delight as he plays tricks on the reading audience as well as his audience in the forest.
Full of fun, the book will easily become a favourite amongst pre school children, especially when read aloud with an appropriate voice and actions.
Fran Knight