'Snow Bear' by Tony Mitton and Alison Brown
Not technically a Christmas book, but it has a strong seasonal feel to it. This is the story of a little bear who can't find shelter on a snowy night - until he finds a little house, where a girl lives alone. It's a really simple but beautiful story of friendship which will give you a warm glow inside. The illustrations are just lovely too - the snow bear is so endearing and the little house is so inviting. This is a perfect story for snuggling up together on a chilly evening.
'Teddy Bear Postman' by Phoebe and Selby Worthington
This book belonged to my husband when he was little. To be honest, there isn't much to it - it's a very basic story of a bear postman delivering gifts and cards on Christmas Eve. It also stops quite abruptly with him hanging up his stocking. It does have an old-fashioned charm to it, though, and the illustrations are detailed but child-friendly. It's an interesting book to compare against modern picture books, and actually my daughter used to really like it when she was around 3, so maybe I'm missing something!
'Sam's Snowflake' by Gillian Shields and Rosie Reeve
In this sweet story, Sam's father goes out to fetch a Christmas surprise while he helps his mother with all the preparations for the day. But Dad is out for longer than they expect and Sam begins to worry. He makes a snowflake to hang in his window in the hope it will bring his Dad home. It's quite an emotional little story, perhaps not best suited to some families, but it does have a happy ending thankfully! I half suspect Dad nipped off to the pub to avoid all the other Christmas jobs though ...
'Mr Grizzly's Christmas' by Maggie Kneen
This is a real charmer of a book. Mr Grizzly, the bookshop owner, hates Christmas - especially now a sweet shop has opened up next door and there are sticky cubs everywhere. But one day an encounter with a not-sticky cub starts to melt his heart and he learns to embrace the joy not only of Christmas, but of children too. As well as having a very sweet, Christmas-Carol-esque story, the illustrations in this book are just exquisite and so detailed. Also, every page has pop-up parts or flaps to peek under, making it a really good book to read with children of different ages. My 5 year old can appreciate the message of the story while Toddler enjoys lifting the flaps!
Do you know of any other bear-y Christmas books? I'd love to hear any recommendations!
Linking up with #ReadWithMe hosted by Mama Mummy Mum and Kids Love To Read #KLTR hosted by Laura's Lovely Blog and The Inspiration Edit. If you love books, do check out these linkies to find more posts like this one!
I love the look of Mr Grizzly's Christmas :o)
ReplyDeleteAfter a quick look on Story Snug I found Is It Christmas Yet? and I've Seen Santa but my favourite book including a bear at Christmas is Herman's Letter by Tom Percival. Although not specifically a Christmas story it does have a lovely Christmas scene in it and I think of it as a Christmas book :o)
#ReadWithMe
I really recommend Mr Grizzly's Christmas, it's very charming! I love the sound of Herman's Letter, nice to find books that work for Christmas but can be read at other times too.
DeleteOoh lots!
ReplyDeleteHow about "A Christmas for Bear": https://readitdaddy.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/booky-advent-calendar-day-3-christmas.html
Or "When will it snow?"
https://readitdaddy.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/christmas-is-coming-and-even-little.html
The Best Christmas Present Ever: https://readitdaddy.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/booky-advent-calendar-day-23-best.html
Is It Christmas Yet? https://readitdaddy.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/booky-advent-calendar-day-9-is-it.html
Dear Santa: https://readitdaddy.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/dear-santa-by-kathryn-white-and-polona.html
Merry Christmas Hugless Douglas: https://readitdaddy.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/booky-advent-calendar-2017-day-12-merry.html
Waiting for Santa: https://readitdaddy.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/booky-advent-calendar-day-10-waiting.html
Jolly Snow!: https://readitdaddy.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/jolly-snow-by-jane-hissey-scribblers.html
Phew! Didn't realise there were quite so many! Awesome blog post!
Goodness, there's probably enough for a Bear Book Advent! Oh no, I've given myself an idea for next year ... I'm kicking myself that I forgot we have a copy of Jolly Snow I could've included in our Book Advent, it's in the loft somewhere. I've always loved Jane Hissey's work.
DeleteSome lovely choices, bears are just some inviting characters. Thank you for linking with #readwithme
ReplyDeleteEveryone loves a bear!
DeleteThe illustrations in Mr Grizzly's Christmas look beautiful. It's interesting to hear that the book from your husband's childhood was a bit boring! I suspected that the picture books the kids have now were better than the ones I had as a child.
ReplyDeleteYes I find it interesting comparing picture books from a few decades ago to the ones we have now - so much variety these days, better storylines, exciting illustrations. I'm glad I get to read them all with my two!
DeleteI can't believe I've never heard of any of these! They look lovely though. #KLTR
ReplyDeleteMost of them were gifts to us so I probably wouldn't have come across them otherwise. But they are all very sweet books!
DeleteI haven't seen any of these! I will definitely have to check them out as I am always on the look out for new books #KLTR
ReplyDeleteAll but one of them were gifts to us otherwise I'd probably never have heard of them either! They're all very sweet though!
DeleteThese sound a lovely selection. I'm sure I should know some bear Xmas titles, but I can't think of one right now #readwithme
ReplyDeleteWhat adorable books! They would be perfect for winter time and make it seem more fun that it usually is! ha!
ReplyDeleteThere are some wonderful Christmas books out there and I thoroughly enjoyed reading them with my children this year. We have Sam's Snowflake too - it's lovely isn't it? Thanks for linking up to #KLTR
ReplyDelete