The Very Cranky Bear

Lovely book!

I saw a review on here that said they didn’t like the moral of the story but I saw 3 good morals: Don’t feel like you aren’t interesting or good enough, respect other’s wishes, listen to others to know how to help.Right now, my toddler doesn’t usually like books with more than one short sentence per page. With this book, the rhymes flow smoothly and the illustrations are very pretty, so I think that’s why he’ll actually sit through this whole book without turning the page before I finish. Of course, it helps if you really get into character for the bear!

My child and I are big fans of the series, and I believe that this is the original book. It seems that the original is the best, because it is truly our favourite.The story follows four little friends who want to find a dry and warm place to play while there is rain in the Jingle Jangle Jungle. But they impose upon a grumpy bear who just wants to be left alone to sleep. Misguided, three of the friends try to cheer up the bear by "giving" him some of their favourite features about themselves (ie. Zebra's stripes, Lion's mane, and Moose's antlers). In the story there is a sheep, who is described as plain, and she appears to have low self esteem. For example, she doesn't contribute to the discussion about what her favourite feature is about herself, and she doesn't try to impose that onto the bear to "cheer" him up. But when the bear loses his temper on the other three, she jumps to action. She shears off most of her wool to make a soft and comfortable pillow for the Bear.He is grateful and falls right asleep, and the four friends can hang out with him in the cave. It's a cute and sweet story, with beautiful pictures, and great opportunity for the reader to entertain young readers with lots of inflection and different voices. It is one of the favourites on our little one's bookshelf.Now, I'd like to also address some of the concerns about this book's message, some of the concerns I've seen in other comments:1) Sheep being described as "plain" is unkind. This kind of description isn't necessarily an insult. I can certainly agree that it isn't a compliment either, but it is not out of the ordinary in terms of how some kids (and even adults) feel about themselves. I would say it's a lot more valuable for kids to see an example of acknowledging these kinds of descriptors and transcending beyond them. The sheep may have been thought of as "plain", but she was the only one of the friends who was not vain! Instead of trying to make others like her, she rescued the day by being selfless and giving a part of herself to Bear, which in turn helped everyone out. This definitely reinforces the idea that looks aren't everything, which is a good message.2) Bear was a bully. While the Bear didn't act nicely by kicking them out, it doesn't mean that he is a bad person (animal) and it doesn't mean that he is a bully. Sometimes we all lose our tempers and sometimes we don't want anyone to invade our personal space. In fact, a lot of toddlers struggle with these things, and they act just as the Bear did. It's nice to see a harmless example for toddlers of what not to be like, and it is a great opportunity for the reader (parent or guardian) to explain that both the friends and the Bear should have done things differently. The animals should've asked for permission to play in Bear's cave and the Bear should've been more patient and welcoming to the animals. Toddlers are, after all, the target audience for this book - not Buddhist monks who have mastered the spiritual art of inner stillness. :)I hope these points helped to address other reviewer's concerns and hopefully open new potential buyers to buying this book. This is a great addition to a young reader's bookshelf! I highly recommend this book!Please also see my review of "The Very Hungry Bear": https://www.amazon.ca/review/R6Q9FL3SC7AKT/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8Please also see my review of "The Very Noisy Bear": https://www.amazon.ca/review/R1E351EPSAP6DH/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8Please consider giving my review a helpful vote if you found it useful. Thank you!

Bought for 2 year old Granddaughter as a short bedtime story for when she is too tired for anything more. Lovely story with simple but effective illustrations.

Superb. Les enfants adorent cette livre. Les illustrations sont très très colorié et les animaux sont super rigole quand ils essaient d'aider l'ours.

Lo conoscevo già ed è un libro carino x bambini.e' arrivato in brave tempo e mi è costato un prezzo modico