 Bear and Chook Lisa Shanahan Emma Quay Hodder Headline Australia | This is a delightful book about friendship. Bear has big ideas. Chook his best friend goes along with Bears plans, but things dont always go as planned. My Year 1 class loved the story, quickly picking up the repetition. Each new plan of Bears was greeted with a collective Uh-oh! Because we have Learning Buddies in the classroom, they really related to friendship theme. The ending brought a rash of giggles, then the idea we could write the next bit of the story, because its so good we dont want it to end. We strongly recommend this book for Early Childhood! After all a book with a chook has to be a winner! Wendy |
 | Bear and Chook are best friends. Bear likes to do everything. He wants to be a builder, a pilot, a dancer, an astronaut, an explorer and a sea captain. Every time bear has an adventure Chook nearly gets hurt. A mud castle falls on him, a snake tries to bite him, the boat sinks and a stage collapses and he falls through a hole. We liked the funny look on chook's face. Year 2 NSW |
    | Bear and Chook was a read aloud to five and six year old year one students. The class enjoyed the picture storybook that told of the adventures of friends Bear and Chook. The children related to Bear and Chook as they went forth on their adventures. The carefree bear and his dependable friend chook encountered many surprises on their journey. One child thought it sounded like our day at school with after breakfast, after morning tea and after lunch. Other repeated language patterns set up a comforting predictability to the story. One boy started listening for chooks escapes by a wing, and by a tail feather until Murmurs were heard as students related to the characters and the events: Id be Bear shooting the cannons, Id be Bear and get the All the children liked the suspense of Bear and Chooks adventures and the ensuing surprises. The bold, colourful illustrations appealed to the group and children commented on the clear pictures and expressive faces of Bear and Chook. Several students expressed satisfaction with the ending and felt that the picture looked all calm and peaceful. The good-size print is easy to read against the pale caramel background consistent throughout the book. Some children liked the large bold print that described the noises as catastrophes occurred (and after the story there were spontaneous spelling lessons including the ck in crack and smack). This is a good book to read to early childhood classes for an exciting storyline, a satisfactory and humorous ending with clear, colourful pictures that well illustrate the text. The young listeners later produced some wonderful pictures of the adventures of Bear and Chook. Year One, Cairns Queensland |
