posted on 03 Dec 2017

Bears Don’t Eat Egg Sandwiches! by Julie Fulton, illustrated by Rachel Suzanne

Whether you like egg sandwiches or not, this might you have a good think about whether eating them might be a good defence against being eaten by a passing bear. The dramatic story begins with a kitchen scene showing a small curly-haired boy preparing a mountain of sandwiches, licking his lips in anticipation. There is no adult in sight and I am heartened to see that he standing on a stool, holding a knife with some broken eggs littering the floor. Children usually love to point out such hazards and to protest that they would never consider doing such dangerous activities. But we are also treated to a glimpse of something big and brown with sharp claws through the window, a visitor who might be be much more of a health and safety concern.

This is no friendly stripey animal as there is in ‘The Tiger Who Came to Tea’, but a fierce bear that fills the page and who looks ready to pounce. The boy, Jack is unfazed by his aggressive stance and politely offers him one of his freshly prepared egg sandwiches. In response the bear folds his arms, closes his eyes and announces:

‘Bears don’t eat egg sandwiches'

As Jack settles down to work his way through the huge pile of egg sandwiches, the bear sits facing him and tells him that he needs a big plate because he knows what he wants for his lunch. At this point children might just be able to guess what that lunch might consist of and so the sense of danger ratchets up. Jack on the other hand seems to be very trusting , finds a suitable plate, then a big spoon for the bear and continues to check whether he would like an egg sandwich because he is very concerned that he needs to eat something. This enrages the bear and the font gets bolder, bigger and more shouty as he repeats the phrase ‘ Bears don’t eat egg sandwiches ‘ over and over again, children will love to join in with this and to increase the volume each time.

The tension mounts as Jack is persuaded to sit on the big plate and as he does so, tries to guess what on earth the bear might want to eat. Could it be a cheeseburger, jam or perhaps an apple? And then the unbelievable happens because he scoops up Jack with his spoon and pops him into his mouth. At last Jack realises that he is in trouble and hastily explains that he will taste horrible because he is made of frog spawn, grass stains, snot, dirty socks, bits of string and mud. It is not until he desperately reminds the bear that he will also taste of the dreaded egg sandwiches that he is safe again as he spits him out in disgust, because as we all know by now BEARS DON’T EAT EGG SANDWICHES!

Despite what now might be an uneasy relationship between the two, all is resolved on the last double page spread as we see Jack tentatively offering the bear a cheese sandwich option instead as he sits across the table looking fed up. All is forgiven I strongly recommend this very funny picture book which has all the requisite ingredients of a great story to read aloud. It has a plucky and sensible child at the centre and is packed with jeopardy from the outset. The bold illustrations are full of detail and I particularly liked the dense brown of the bear which fills quite a lot of the pages and helps to emphasise his bigness. I also enjoyed the photo montage of a wide variety of real egg sandwiches which give an extra dimension. I very much look forward to sharing it with children and talking about what they might do if a bear came to their house demanding to be fed.

 

Karen Argent

December 2017