We were sitting in a book store over Christmas browsing through some of the new books. My daughter Amy picked up Boogie Bear and, despite not being able to read yet, after paging through the book told me the story of how the one bear fell in love with the other bear. I love that picture books can tell a story to a child in this way, this to me is the power of books.
Boogie Bear by David Walliams is the story of a polar bear who gets lost at sea and finds herself stranded on land and in quite a spot of trouble when she’s surrounded by brown bears. The brown bears haven’t seen a bear with white fur before and, being scared of something new and different, brand her the Boogie Monster.
The polar bear tries to escape, denying claims that she’s scary and that her fur is a funny colour. It’s only when she lands up in a muddy puddle and her fur becomes caked in mud that the brown bears realise the polar bear is in fact a bear and not a Boogie Monster. One of the brown bears falls in love with her, and the two bears have a litter of bear cubs whose fur is lots of different shades of white and brown.
This sweet story of two bears falling in love also has a very important lesson for our children to learn – that it’s alright to be different, in fact it’s even more than alright it’s downright awesome because life is what you make of it and you can be as happy as you choose to be.
Not only is Boogie Bear heartwarming, it’s funny too. Your children will laugh at the antics of the brown bears, delight in the repetitive verse offered by the polar bear, and ultimately rejoice at the happy ending, all brought to life through beautiful colour illustrations by Tony Ross.
Boogie Bear is available for a recommended retail price of R165 from book stores and online retailers. It’s recommended for children aged three years and older.
Thanks to Jonathan Ball Publishers for sharing Boogie Bear with us.
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