Big Bear Little Bear

by David Bedford, Jane Chapman

Little Bear longs to be as big and as fast as his mother, but after she shows the little polar bear cub what it is like to be grown up, Little Bear decides he isn't quite ready to be a big bear yet.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Family, Storytime, Fiction

16 pages, Board Book

First published February 1, 2001

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

David Bedford has a BS and PhD in Biology. He gave up biology in 1997 to write full time.

Reviews

[Belinda Vlasbaard · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5 sterren - Nederlandse kartonnen boekje.

"Ai, oma, Ai, Ai". Zhyvaya, mijn kleindochter is helemaal blij met haar Sinterklaas cadeautje!

Volgens haar een aanrader dus.

[Punit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well illustrated, this one forms a perfect bed-time story for the kids(and adults alike). The little bear is playful, mischievous as kids usually are; and the little one wants to grow up quickly so as to enjoy the perks of being an adult. And don't we all know that the responsibilities outweigh the perks? Thankfully, none of that is mentioned in the book and it is kept pure with the kid being a kid.
This one also carries the pain that one experiences when their children grow up. My only complaint - the story-line could have been a little more engaging. The kids will love it, but can't comprehend the rationale of it. The illustrations are indeed beautiful, enough to keep one engaged and enough to grab hold of a copy of the book.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations.

[Alyce Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely stunning. Baby Bear is too little, so he can't do as much as Mummy Bear can. Mummy Bear shows him what it's going to be like to be tall and fast, able to dive into the sea and swim strongly, but she tells him she doesn't want him to grow up just yet because she likes being able to snuggle him. He agrees - although it's going to be fun to be big, he doesn't want to be big right now.
There are so many TV shows and movies which make it sound as though growing up is the best thing a child can do, so it's nice to see someone showing the other side of things! It made me emotional to think about my little one getting bigger, and made me realise how important it is to appreciate the time I have with her while she's so small.
Plus it helps that the colour palette used throughout the illustrations is absolutely gorgeous. There are a lot of children's books set in the snow and sea, but this is one of the most beautiful depictions I've seen.

[Iman]

This was a book I enjoyed. During this story little bear is comparing himself to mother bear and how she is stronger,taller, and faster than him. Mother bear is teaching little bear that each stage in life has it's joy and that when your a little bear you can get cuddles from your mum and climb on her back. Whereas when you grow up you become independent. It also shows the mother's relationship with little bear and how as a baby you have some weaknesses and as you grow, you learn through the experiences you face during childhood.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

From K's childhood books

[Szidonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this with my little one, it is so cute!

[Ashley Zink · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book about a little polar bear who can't wait to grow up to be like his mother. His mom shows him all the things he has to look forward to when he is older. Preschool-2nd

[Jaime · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ooh. Such a sweet story and I love the texture of the bears. So snuggly.

[E & E’s Mama · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet book about a polar bear who wants to grow up big and strong like his mama as they explore the arctic.

* library book; read at 2 years old

[K Morlando · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent book to use with my students when we studied the arctic and arctic animals.

[Diana Pavon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hermosas ilustraciones , libro super cortito de cuento que lo lees de una sentada, si te gusta ilustrar osos polares es una buena fuente de inspiración 🤗✨

[Viviane Elbee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty illustrations in this book, where a little bear notices what his mom bear does, and realizes this is what life will be when he grows up. Full of love.

[Miss Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Follow little bear with his mother through the snow as she teaches him the things he will need to learn while growing up.

[Mr H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Made funnier by speaking in a very aggressive tone for big mummy bear

[Danielle Siddon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story about a little polar bear who lives in the arctic and longs to be just like his mother. Mother bear shows baby bear what it is like to be a grown up, but after realising that he can't do all of the things he used to do, baby bear decides he no longer wants to be a grown up. This story is perfect to read to children in KS1/EYFS particularly at the stage of transition; although the children may feel excited, they may be a little anxious about growing up.
I have used this book with reception class to promote discussion about how the children were feeling about moving to year one. This book is also very good to introduce the topic of hot and cold countries to children in their reception year.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book for Jane Chapman's brilliant, beautiful illustrations. Jane Chapman is an amazingly prolific artist. She is probably best known for her work on Karma Wilson's "Bear..." series, as in "Bear Snores On". Any of those books are wonderful, but "Big Bear, Little Bear" is also a little gem.

Big Bear, Little Bear is about how children want to, and do, grow up so fast; and how their parents enjoy every moment of that journey. It is a sweet and well-told story.

You can probably already tell how much I enjoy the illustration in this book. I especially like reading this book at this time of the 90-degree+ year. The polar picture make the room seem at least ten degrees cooler.

[Ina · Rating 5 out of 5]

When a young polar bear asks, "what is it like to be big?" his mother shows him. They play and run and swim and have such fun together. The illustrations are beautiful, the reader feels the loving bond these two bears have. Many of the children in my storytime audience snuggled in with their adult while I read this book...and several mobile children took turns counting the bears on each page or pointing to "big bear" and "little bear."
Sweet book that I may read again for Mother's Day.

[Kristina Silverbears · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet book about the relationship between a Mama Bear and Little Bear as Little Bear learns how to be a big bear.

I did feel that the lines " "Will I feel as if I can touch the sky and run as fast as the wind and swim like a fish?" asked Little Bear. "Yes," said Mama Bear. "That is what happens when little bears grow big." " Was a trifle dishonest, but the idea was kind and the illustrations cuddly, if illustrations can be said to be cuddly. A good teaching book.

[Levi]

Today, I read this with the first grade class. It was well written, and I appreciate the good sentence structure and grammar as examples for students at such a young age. In addition, I think it was great that the story was about animals who certainly need some ecological and environmental attention to foster a young population. Other than that, the story was fairly standard. A decent read, but not something to go out of your way to find a copy.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Suloiset jääkarhut tähdittävät tarinaa, jossa lapsi haikailee aikuiseksi/isoksi kasvamisesta. Välillä meistä jokainen varmasti toivoo, että voisi kasvaa samantien isoksi. Hetken päästä sitä toteaa, että on oikein tyytyväinen tähän nykyiseen hetkeen.

Kuvitus on todella sydämellisesti tehty, mutta voiko vähempää odottaa Jane Chapmanilta?

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The pictures are really bright and beautiful. This is about mamma bear telling baby bear of all the things baby bear will be able to do as a big bear. It explains about polar bears in a cute and fun way.

[Elizabeth S · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a nice, simple story that can teach big concepts, or just be a fun story. I like the relationship between the mother and the bear cub. I like how the cub can trust his mother, even swimming underwater. Sweet, but not sticky sweet.

[Molly Schoonover · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a heartwarming story of a mother-child relationship. It encourages children to look forward to growing up, but also enjoy their childhood, which is a beautiful message. The imagery in this book is also so vivid and eye-catching-sure to keep any child's attention.

[Sajitha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kids always emulate adults – be it any species. This book beautifully portrayed the life of little bear and how it fascinates each movement of big bear. As mom, you will feel emotional touch at the end!

[Moodles · Rating 5 out of 5]

October 2026 - I liked this book because it was really fun to read and to see the bears having fun together.


July 2023 - Moodles really liked this book. His favourite bit was when the mummy bear was rolling the little bear around in the snow.

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

the bears are soft and fuzzy but the rest is board. cute with predictable ending.

[Tynisha Thompkins]

An adult-child book!

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

We purchased the bilingual (traditional Mandarin Chinese and English) edition during our last visit to Taiwan (before kids).

[Bhargavi Balachandran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely heartwarming book that the LO loved. Jane Chapman's illustrations are brilliant!