16th May Sun Bear Day and Endangered Species Day

Sun Bear Day is  observed on the third Friday in May every year. It highlights a threatened bear species, the sun bear, native to the tropical forests of Southeast Asia, occurring in India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, among others. It is the smallest of all types of bears, reaching 70 centimetres when standing. Their shy and elusive nature led them to be used as pets in the past. According to the IUCN Bear Specialist Group, the sun bear population has declined by 35% in the thirty years due to habitat fragmentation, deforestation, wildlife trade, and loss of food resources.Sydney's Taronga Zoo has a sun bear, Mary and and you can see and read about her here.

Tearing apart a 9kg watermelon with her sharp claws, Mary the Malayan sun bear wastes no time getting nose deep in a bear-y sweet surprise.

There are three books in the library about sun bears.

It is also Endangered Species Day which is appropriate because sun bears are a threatened species. An endangered species is a plant or animal facing extinction if its population numbers do not increase. There are a large number of animals and plants that are endangered and may books cover these either specifically or in a general text such as these: 

And coming later this year

23rd March World Bear Day

World Bear Day celebrates all types of bears! Moon bears, sun bears, spectacled bears, sloth bears, black and brown bears! There are eight species of bears and six of these are considered vulnerable or threatened according  to the IUCN Red List.

We have just celebrated Polar Bear Day and Panda Day, so now we can focus on the other bears. Start with a book like Meet the Bears  by Kate Peridot, A Book of Bears  by Katie Viggers or Something About a Bear  by Jackie Morris which introduce the eight bears and where to find them.

Then, here are some books that give positive messages about saving bears.

And coming later this year, this book by Catherine Barr.

In the past I have used picture books to look at Bears in Captivity. You can see some of the books I used for this unit on this Pinterest page.

12th April Teddy Bears in Every Window

I've just come back from walking round my neighbourhood (exercise) and I couldn't help noticing how many teddy bears are out and about too. They are sitting in windows, on doorsteps and in the rear window of cars. What are they doing you might ask?

They are part of a worldwide teddy bear hunt designed to distract children while they are homebound because of Covid 19. this hunt is said to be inspired by Michael Rosen's classic book, We're Going on a Bear Hunt. Whether it is this book or others, there are so many great  bear books to choose from. Strictly speaking, Rosen's bear is not a teddy, so here I am only going to mention books with teddy bears. I was weeding in the library and while scanning the shelves I pulled out some of my favourites, all of which have a teddy bear as a main character.


Firstly, The Beginner's Guide to Bears by Gillian Shields. Here's the blurb:
Ever wondered what kind of teddy bear is right for you? Or what you could do together with your bear? Then THE BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO BEARS is the perfect read for you. From the types of bears, "big and cuddly" or "small and fuzzy" to what foods bears like eating most, this is one children's book sure to entertain. With cute illustrations, and even a mirror to peek in with your own bear at your side, this is sure to quickly become a favourite.

Secondly, Old Bob's Brown Bear by Niki Daly. I love the premise of this story. Bob is given a teddy, but his granddaughter, Emma doesn't like the way he cares for it and thinks she can do a better job...

Thirdly, Baggy Brown by Mick Inkpen reminds us that being scruffy and worn is a sign that you are loved. There is a similar theme in Kym Lardner's Arnold the Prickly Teddy  and in James Stevenson's The Night After Christmas. All sadly out of print but gems, that you may find in your library.

Fourthly, bears have dreams of their own, I'm sure. If they could get  out and about what would they do? In Julia Donaldson's The Everywhere Bear the teddy belongs in Class One and he goes home each weekend with a different member of the class and has a myriad of adventures. In Bear's Dream by Janet Slingsby, bear dreams of meeting all the varieties of real bears. In A Bear's Adventure by Benedict Blathwayt, Bear is left behind at the seaside and has a great adventure endeavouring to get back home. Similarly, the bear in Teddy Took the Train  by Nicki Greenberg is left behind when Dot accidentally leaves him on the train, but ...
Teddy is a brave bear. What wonderful adventures will he have when he rides away on the train? Will there be picnics? Will there be parties? Will he have time for a nap? And most importantly, will he find his way home to Dot - or will she never see him again?  

I hope all of these teddies get to meet up and have one big enormous Teddy Bear's Picnic when Covid 19 allows!

12th March More Sleep

Today, coincidently I covered and catalogued a wonderful book that fit so well with the sleeping fairytale discussion. I could have written about it last night, but I didn't know about it then. It is called Princess Sleepyhead and the Night- Night Bear by Peter Bently. It is written in verse which I don't usually like, but this book reads really well. It has all the sleep vocabulary, the royal castle setting and the bear tells the princess the stories of Sleeping Beauty and The Princess and the Pea. Just perfect and what a way to tie all the sleeping fairytales together!

26th December

It is Boxing Day and I maybe should be thinking about boxes, but having done boxes before for a great display in the library and the box construction club (see http://pinterest.com/kinderbookboard/cardboard-boxes/) I feel inclined to write about something else I have observed lately.

A couple of days ago I bought The Bear with the Sword by David Cali and as I read it and looked at the bear and his behaviour I was reminded of  two other bear picture books I had bought this year,  Bear Has a Story to Tell by Philip Stead and Erin Stead and Bear in Love  by Daniel Pinkwater and Will Hillenbrand. How do illustrators make bears have such human expressions? Each bear is different but so imbued with human mannerisms. My favourite bear is the one in Sebastian Meschenmoser's Waiting For Winter. He makes me smile every time I look at him trying to work out what snow is. None of these bears appear to be 'wild' or 'grizzly'. None are bad-tempered or look as if they could do harm, and for someone who lives in a country without bears (except in zoos) it is so hard to remember that we should keep our distance from these animals. They do not look anything like teddybears either so they have become pseudohumans. They are easy to empathise with, so easy to see their point of view, and so easy to fall in love with and want to hug. Look at their eyes!

Here are some of my favourite bears and bear stories and this is without including any of Barbara Firth's for Martin Waddell, Kady MacDonald Denton's for Bonny Becker or Karma Wilson's.