posted on 23 Nov 2023

Bear and Bird: The stars and other stories by Jarvis

This is the second instalment in the series about two friends who enjoy everyday experiences together. The first book was very enjoyable so I looked forward to reading more about their special relationship and their familiar but low key adventures in this collection of four stories. As someone who, even as a child, always preferred a quiet, gentle life, I was also keen to try it out with my two more active grandsons aged five and seven.

Their response to the front cover showing the Bear and the Bird in a small boat beneath the stars was very positive. They liked their cheerful expressions although one suggested that the Bear might fall in the water! The seven year old suggested that the Bird was trying to catch a wishing star with his net. As all publishers know, no matter how much children might beg for a particular book, it is the parents that need to be convinced that it will be a good buy. Their mom was immediately attracted by the softly bright colours and the promise of an exciting adventure with a hopefully happy ending. We all looked at two of the stories in more detail.

The Spoon

An enduring friendship is about finding ways to sort out and resolve various ups and downs along the way. The first story begins with the need for Bear and Bird to find new friends because they had had a major argument about a spoon. We spent some time thinking about what this could be and decided that they had both had it as a favourite but wouldn’t take turns.

Bear sends a hopeful written message and sends it across the lake as a little paper boat and is delighted to receive one in response from a mysterious stranger. After an exchange of thirteen paper boats they agree to meet up at Badger’s cafe for breakfast.

The Cake

Bear sometimes acts on impulse before making decisions. On this occasion he finds a delicious looking cake under a bush and promptly gobbles it up in one go. As we all know from reading stories - this is potentially reckless behaviour but Bear’s main concern is that he might get found out! He decides to replace the cake by making another one, even though he has never baked one before. Using some odd ingredients including worms and dung means that the results is pretty disgusting.

The resolution to this dilemma is quite surprising but showed us that it is important to make compromises and also to have a sense of humour.

I strongly recommend this collection of charming stories that would generate some rich discussion about being selfish, telling the truth, being creative and the value of friendship.

Available now from Walker Books, you will be able to get this from your local independent bookshop and if they don’t have it on their shelves, they will be happy to order it for you.

 

Karen Argent

November 2023