The Bear Who Had Nothing to Wear

by Jeanne Willis, Brian Fitzgerald (illustrator)

There once was a bear who had NOTHING to wear, and normally, teddy bears don't really care, / They’re happy to dress how you want them to dress, but Albie was not, I am bound to confess.

Each outfit that Albie purchases―from fairy to pirate, from cowboy to elegant city gent―proves unsuitable in some way, and by the end of the week, his bedroom is heaped with discarded clothes. How will he dress in order to feel like himself?

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals

32 pages, Hardcover

Published March 4, 2025

About the author

Jeanne Willis was born in St Albans and trained as an advertising copywriter at Watford College. She worked for various agencies creating press adverts and TV, cinema and radio commercials. She is now a full-time writer and has published over 80 books. Her hobbies include gardening, reading (non-fiction), natural history and collecting caterpillars. Jeanne has also worked on scripts for TV, including POLLY POCKET and THE SLOW NORRIS, and a pilot TV series for DR XARGLE. She lives in North London with her husband and two children.

Reviews

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this - a whole lot of rhyming fun and I like that it explores the concept that we can fit into much more than just one pigeon-hole box from one moment to the next, or one day to the next.
Great opportunity to recount the days of the week and the alternatives of fashion/style.
A soft approach to gender and stereotypes is written within the story.
Filled with great talking point opportunities about dressing up and showing the way we see the world.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Copy provided by Edelweiss Plus

Albie is a bear who isn't quite sure who he is. He has no clothes, so doesn't know his gender or age. He tries on a variety of costumes to see what fits best. He tries wearing baby clothes, but that isn't quite right. He feels like a prince for one day, but the next wants to be a butterfly queen. Dressing like a cowboy makes him momentarily happy, but that idea gives way to being a pirate. He tries going to the city to obtain a more professional look, complete with suit, but that's not the ticket either, so he tries out some country tweed instead. In the end, frustrated with the fact that nothing feels right, he takes off all of the clothes and runs through the woods, deciding that he is just a bear in his fur. He gives away his clothes to less fortunate bears as he embraces his new "bare" style.

This is a humorous look at how difficult it can be for children to decide on clothing from time to time. Hopefully, watching Albie have meltdowns will show youngsters how silly this is, and help them to make more constructive choices about outfits.

A lot of morning arguments about clothing can be avoided with some advanced planning. Add The Bear Who Had Nothing to Wear to a list of read alouds that includes Stocke's A Hat for Minerva Louise, Sedlackova and Majova's What Should I Wear to Work, Gopal's My Pati's Saris, Chodos-Irving's Ella Sarah Gets Dressed, and Fleming's Maggie and Michael Get Dressed, and spend some quality time on Sunday night preparing desirable outfits for the week to cut down on the morning squabbles and questionable outfits!

(In my household, Albie would DEFINITELY have been used as a bad example! His meltdowns are unattractive, and he isn't very conscious about his consumerism, although he does give away most of the clothes to others when he no longer wants them.)

[Bailey Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Bear Who Had Nothing To Wear is a fabulous, funny, cute, bright, and endearing read! Most bears will be anything you want them to be but not this bear. He is one of a kind and always changing his mind. Every single day he buys a new outfit to become someone else. He is happy.....until the next day comes. Will this bear ever accept who he truly is?

[Becky Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. Had a nice flow to it and was nice to listen to as it rhymed throughout. The illustrations were vibrant and creative. Would like to read this to my nephews and Key Stage 1/ EYFS classes.

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Albie struggles with what to wear each day. After a day of wearing an outfit, the bear decides it's not what they want. They don't even want to decide what type of teddy they are. An interesting approach but it fell flat for me. Others appreciated it more so be sure to read their reviews also.

[DonutKnow · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute outfits, but not much of a deeper message for my taste 🤔🤔

[Phoebe Browne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rhyming book with an empowering message about embracing your true self.

[Jj · Rating 2 out of 5]

A rhyming picture book about an indecisive and ultimately unclothed bear. This is a strange one...

[Kitchen Sink Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jeanne Willis never ceases to amaze me. I wonder not only where do all her story ideas come from but how does she have the time and energy to make them all into books? She is one of the most prolific picturebook creators that I can think of and now she is back with another. The Bear Who Had Nothing To Wear is illustrated by the very talented Brian Fitzgerald. They make a great pairing, Jeanne is a prize-winning author and Brian an merging talent, together thy have created a picturebook with a funny and appealing title and an utterly charming story.

Allie is the ear in question, the one we know of from the title and the reason he has nothing to wear? Well usually, as we probably know, the owner of a bear would dress them how they want but Albie was not going to settle for this for Albie had pride. Not only this but Albie could sometimes be a mummy, othertimes a daddy bear and even sometimes a baby bear. He could be a prince with a crown or a fairy queen going to the ball. The trouble is if it was Wednesday he could be a cowboy but Thursday might bring out his pirate side! After a week of not knowing what to wear this teddy decided to go bare … and donate all his clothes to poor teddies in rags. With a clever surprise ending this is a wonderful, vibrant, and silly story with an important message about having the confidence to be ourselves, always.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one is a 2.5 for me. This picture book's title is something of a misnomer since it isn't that the teddy bear--Albie--has nothing to wear, but more that he doesn't like the fashion choices he's given. For each day of the week, he has different attire to fit his varying moods, but nothing seems quite right until he discards all his threads and accessories, giving them away, and races through the grass wearing only a hat with a rainbow-colored band and a smile of contentment. The rhyming text and humorous, colorful illustrations help this message of empowerment and being true to oneself go down smoothly, but it's all a bit too strained and heavy-handed for my tastes. Its intended audience will enjoy reading or listening to it, though, since Albie may remind some of them of themselves and their dislike for restrictive clothing or roles.

Rereading this one made me smile and appreciate it a bit more, but it still didn't thrill me all that much.