A Beginner's Guide to Bear Spotting

by Michelle Robinson, David Roberts (Illustrator)

Overview

Do you dream of seeing some real, live bears? Then this essential guide to bear spotting, filled with offbeat humor and quirky illustrations, is for you!

In this perfect read-aloud, sure to delight kids and parents alike, a young aspiring bear spotter ventures into bear country . . . But coming face-to-face with the furry creatures themselves, whether black or brown, can be dangerous, and our protagonist--accompanied by a trusty teddy bear--might need to use some unconventional means to stay out of trouble and avoid being (gulp!) eaten.

This laugh-out-loud, how-to guide--brilliantly brought to life by New York Times bestselling illustrator David Roberts' expressive art--is a must-read for fans of I Want My Hat Back and Secret Pizza Party.

Awards for There's a Lion in My Cornflakes
Winner, Best Picture Book - Sainsbury's Children's Book Awards
A Guardian Best New Children Book
The Sunday Times' Children's Book of the Week

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681190273
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	02/04/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Michelle Robinson is the award-winning author of There's a Lion in My Cornflakes, How to Wash a Woolly Mammoth, Yak Yuk, and Bear Boar, among others. Previously, she worked for some of the world's biggest brands. Michelle lives in Frome, England, with her husband and two children.

www.michellerobinson.co.uk

David Roberts is the award-winning illustrator of numerous children's books, including three books by Andrea Beaty--the New York Times best-selling Rosie Revere, Engineer, as well as Iggy Peck, Architect and Happy Birthday, Madame Chapeau--and Paul Fleischman's The Dunderheads, which was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal.

davidrobertsillustration.com.
Michelle Robinson is the bestselling, award-winning author of picture books including The World Made a Rainbow, She Rex, There's a Lion in my Cornflakes, A Beginner's Guide to Bearspotting, Grandmas from Mars, the Goodnight Spaceman series and many, many more. She has won several awards, including the Lollies Laugh Out Loud Book Award, Sainsbury's Children's Book Award, the Stockport Children's Book Award and the North Somerset Teachers' Book awards. She is also the author of funny young fiction inlcluding Do Not Disturb the Dragons and Do Not Mess with the Mermaids.
michellerobinson.co.uk / @micherobinson

Editorial Reviews

11/02/2015
As a junior woodsman heads into bear country, Robinson’s (There’s a Lion in My Cornflakes) narrator—who is highly unreliable and something of a classic British scold—tags along. “I don’t think you’re taking this very seriously,” the narrator sniffs when the boy cheekily displays his blue teddy bear. “You ought to, you know.” Soon a black bear and a brown bear make appearances, looking exactly as hulking and beady-eyed as they appear in the boy’s field guide, and the narrator’s insights become increasingly unhelpful: “With a brown bear, the best thing to do is play dead. Although to a black bear, that’s like an invitation to dinner.” The day is saved—at least momentarily—when the boy ignores the narrator in favor of his own plan. However, the Klassenesque final page suggests that the boy’s exploring days are permanently over, striking a grim closing note. Roberts’s (Happy Birthday, Madame Chapeau) artwork is exquisitely inked and textured, and there’s subversive comedy on every page, such as when the bears strike coquettish come-hither poses in the pages of the boy’s field guide. Ages 3–6. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"The illustrations in this picture book are wonderfully quirky and the story is interactive and humorous. This book would be a fun, funny read aloud for any classroom or library. Recommended." - School Library Connection

"Sweet, silly, and just a wee bit scary, this title could make a great wind-down story for a cold winter’s night." - BCCB

"Roberts’s . . . artwork is exquisitely inked and textured, and there’s subversive comedy on every page." - Publishers Weekly

"The layout and humor make this a good read-aloud choice for the older picture book crowd." - School Library Journal

"Robinson’s chatty, conspiratorial style addresses the reader directly . . . Roberts enhances the text with whimsy . . . The British duo’s clever creation travels well across the pond and will produce plenty of raucous laughter." - Booklist

"A handy story for little adventurers curious about the outdoor world. . . [A] quirky, appealing title. Be sure to snuggle up to 'the stuffed kind' of bears and share this book with future Scaredy Squirrel series fans." - Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

12/01/2015
K-Gr 2—Robinson, author of How to Wash a Woolly Mammoth (Holt, 2014) and What to Do If an Elephant Stands on Your Foot (Dial, 2012), returns with another farcical how-to guide for young readers. This time, the narrator tells a young child on a nature walk about the differences between black and brown bears and what one should do if one actually sees a bear. Advice ranges from playing dead to backing away to using pepper spray. However, as in the author's previous books, some small snafu causes the advice to be ineffective and the situation to escalate. When the narrator is giving information or instructions, Roberts's illustrations are in black and brown on graph paper, faux sketchbook-style. When the child interacts with the narrator or bears, illustrations are in color on a solid white background. The style effectively separates the instruction from the action. VERDICT The layout and humor make this a good read-aloud choice for the older picture book crowd.—Kelly Roth, Bartow County Public Library, Cartersville, GA

School Library Journal

2015-11-03
A handy story for little adventurers curious about the outdoor world. In this British import, Robinson breaks the wall between book and audience to advise readers about the precautions needed when exploring country life. Laid out as a blend of a field journal and pictorial narrative, the story presents the young main character, ready for an adventurous walk in the woods. As the backpack-toting, balaclava- and plaid-jacket-clad child strides confidently into the forest, the text suggests to readers, "You'd better make sure you know your bears." A turn of the page reveals field-note illustrations, scientific names, and descriptions of black and brown bears. When the protagonist finally encounters not one, but two bears, readers will realize that it takes more than a guidebook to face your fears—and not everything is as dangerous as it might seem. With autumnal colors, Roberts guides readers' eyes toward detailed and minimalistic illustrations of flora, fauna, and fungi characteristic of the deep woods. The freckle-faced child has dark skin and is of indeterminate gender. Graph-paper backgrounds, different fonts, and the silliness of the main character make this a quirky, appealing title. Be sure to snuggle up to "the stuffed kind" of bears and share this book with future Scaredy Squirrel series fans. (Picture book. 5-7)

Kirkus Reviews