Can You See a Little Bear by James Mayhew
illustrated by Jackie Morris
pub by Frances Lincoln Spring 2005

 

Chosen by Child Magazine (USA) as one of their top 50 books of the year. See review below

Can You See a Little Bear?
Text by James Mayhew, illustrations by Jackie Morris.
Steeped in dreamy surrealism, this intriguing picture book invites little ones to find the smiling polar bear tucked into each spread -- among onion-domed towers, lavishly robed circus performers, mermaid dolphin-riders, and tooth-brushing crocodiles. (As in dreams, somehow this all makes sense.) Far more than a find-the-object book, this one fires up the imagination with its lush, exotic watercolors and rhyming text: "Ducks like the rain, penguins like the snow/Here's Little Bear -- and he's putting on a show!" Frances Lincoln, $16.95.

or go to the

Child magazine web site

also by Nicholas Tucker of the Independent as one of the "Best Children's Titles for Christmas" (Dec 9th)

"They should also much enjoy Jackie Morris's luminous illustrations for Can You See a Little Bear? (Frances Lincoln, £10.99). Pleasantly written by James Mayhew, this look-and-find journey through a series of ultra-colourful settings in different countries is simply astonishing."

Times Review of Books,17th Dec, The Way to Santa's Workshop, Amanda Craig wrote

"A lyrical mood is set by James Mayhew and Jackie Morris, in Can You See A Little Bear? (Frances Lincoln £10.99; offer £9.89). Morris illustrated one of my other favourite Christmas books, The Greatest Gift, which my children have banned me from reading aloud as it always makes me cry. This is pure jollity. A little white bear joins in a joyful procession of pipers, peacocks, acrobats, parrots and angels as they dance, fly, prance in a circus and fly off in a balloon before getting the Little Bear ready for bed in a series of rhyming couplets that are as richly mysterious as the pictures. It’s just right for getting an overexcited 5+ into bed."

For ideas of ways to enjoy Can You See a Little Bear? in class, for reading, writing, drawing, music and much much more click here

 

This book came about as a direct result of the designs for the Musicians Benevolent Trust card designs. Written by James Mayhew with these images in mind, it is a simple rhyming text for very young children. Through observing our own children and their response to books we wanted to make a book with simple language but complex images packed with details which will fascinate the inquisitive minds of young children. The book has many ambitions, including , to encourage a love of language, to engage and interest the child in following the Little Bear through his adventures, to encourage conversation between the parent and the child, and while all this sounds far too worthy, for both the reader and the child audience to have fun.
The pictures are packed with details and strange goings on as Little Bear goes off to play in the snowy world and comes home in time for a bath with crocodiles and kookaburras, and then, like all good story books, to bed.

With such an open text there was a lot to play with and I began the book by working out what the Little Bear looked like through playing with a series of sketches.

And once the character of the Little Bear was decided on I went on to do a series of thumbnail sketches laying out the pages of the book.

This is where a great deal of the thinking for the book is done. The rest was all colouring in!

For ideas of ways to enjoy Can You See a Little Bear? in class, for reading, writing, drawing, music and much much more click here

And now Can You See a Little Bear is also available in a small, but perfectly formed new version as a board book.

 

 

 

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