5. We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen

Bibliographic Citation: Rosen, Michael. We're Going on a Bear Hunt. Illustrated by Helen Oxenbury. New York, NY: Mararet K. McElderry Book, 1989. 36 p. ISBN 978-0689716539 

Awards/Selection Lists:

The Horn Book Fanfare Title, 1990
School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, 1990
Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Award

Format Examined:

Hardcover

Annotation:

A father takes his children and their dog on a bear hunt through tall grass, a river, mud, a forest, and end up in a cave with a bear.

Personal Reaction:

This classic picture book is written more like a chant than a book, which is what makes children want to hear it read over and over again. The listener goes on an adventure with the family to look for a bear. Along the way, they encounter obstacles, such as tall, wavy grass. The reader chants, "We can't go over it. We can't go under it", to which the decision is made that the family (and all the listeners, too) will have to go through it. The text on the following page mimics the sound that tall, wavy grass would make if a family were to walk through it. After the family gets through the grass, the next adventures include wading across a river, trudging through the mud, traveling through a dark, scary forest, and at last, coming to a cave. The family tiptoes into the cave, where they find "one shiny wet nose, two big furry ears, and two big goggly eyes", which is believed to be a bear! The text takes the family back through each obstacle quickly with complete sound effects, until the family arrives safely at home and hides in bed. The illustrations alternate between pencil sketches and water colored art. Color is used to identify the sound effects as the family makes their way through an obstacle. This book enables children to go on a "scary" adventure through the safety of written words and their imagination.

Age Recommendation:

I would recommend this book for children 2-5 years of age.

Themes/Issues:

Adventure, nature, sequence, sounds

Early Literacy Skill Value:

Letter Knowledge:
Letter knowledge is not a direct focus of this book.

Narrative Skills:
Children take part in the telling of this story through chanting the words on the page, and making the sound effects for each obstacle along the characters' journey.

Phonological Awareness:
Sound effects are woven into the text of the story, giving the audience the opportunity to become a part of the story through making the sounds that match the text.

Print Awareness:
The text of the story is written in simple sentences with black and white sketches. The sound effects that are made while the characters go through various obstacles are written in three lines of text that grow larger in size on each new line. Sound effect pages are accompanied by water-colored illustrations meant to draw attention to the fact that it is time for audience participation.   

Print Motivation:
Adventure and sounds make this book come to life, as it inspires imagination, thought, and reading. 

Vocabulary:

New sound words are introduced throughout this book, as well as positional words, such as over, under, around, and through. 

Author/ Illustrator Website:
Author, Michael Rosen's website: http://www.michaelrosen.co.uk/index.html
No Illustrator's website.