Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
The Grizzly Bear with the Frizzly Hair
Illustrator: Hannah Shaw
Picture Book
For ages 5 to 7
Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2011 ISBN: 978-1847800855
The Grizzly Bear with the Frizzly Hair has nothing left to eat in the woods, and now he is hungry, bad-tempered, and “on the prowl.” When he come across a rabbit, the bear snatches up the little animal and starts to swallow it. Desperately, the rabbit tries to put the bear off, telling the hungry beast that his knees are too bony and that they will give the bear a “tummy ache.” He tells the bear that “Eating someone’s head is really not…polite.”
Not surprisingly, the bear does not care what the rabbit has to say. He is hungry and he is going to eat the rabbit, bony knees and all. Then the rabbit tells the bear that there is something in the river that is much bigger than one little rabbit, something that will really satisfy his enormous appetite.
Based on a folk tale that is many hundreds of years old, this is a story children will greatly enjoy. The tale is told using clever rhymes, and Hannah Shaw’s illustrations perfectly compliment the text.
