The bear in the cave by Michael Rosen and Adrian Reynolds

Having just had a Teddy Bears' Picnic in my library I am surprised at the vast number of bear books that are around for the young, so I was intrigued when a new one turned up for review. The cover is lovely, warm and inviting with its yellow, orangey cuddly bear snuggling 4 children, all on a brightly coloured patchwork pillow. Inside we meet a bear who lives all alone. He hears the sound of the city and so goes there, but is dismayed at the call to buy at the market, the height of the tall buildings and the cars that go whooshing by. When people laugh at him, he runs to the park where he sits on a bench until some children, deciding he looks lost, take him back to his home by the sea. He retraces his steps, now with the children, and they sing all day.

A lovely repetitive story, this would be well suited to children in their early years at school, and the CD which accompanies it adds another dimension to using the book in the classroom.

Fran Knight