Boogie Bear

by David Walliams

From Number One bestselling author David Walliams comes a hilarious and heartwarming picture book, brilliantly illustrated by the artistic genius, Tony Ross.Up at the North Pole, a big furry polar bear is swimming, fishing and eating. But when she nods off and finds herself far from home, she thinks things cant get any worse.But they canMuch worse!An outrageously funny picture book with an incredibly heartwarming message about celebrating difference in all its forms.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Humor, Fiction

40 pages, Paperback

Published July 23, 2019

About the author

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

David Walliams is an actor and writer best known for his work with Matt Lucas in the multi-award-winning sketch show Little Britain. His debut children's novel, The Boy in the Dress, was published in 2008 to unanimous critical acclaim and he has since developed a reputation as a natural successor to Roald Dahl.

Reviews

[Matti Karjalainen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suuri ja pörröinen karhuneiti viettää rentoa päivää Pohjoisnavalla. Makoisan kala-aterian jälkeen alkaa nukuttaa, mutta - oi joi, voi voi - jäävuori murtuu ja karhu löytää itsensä ulapalta. Huonommin ei voisi enää käydä? Paitsi että voi. Jääkarhu rantautuu saarelle, joka on täynnä ruskeita karhuja, jotka eivät ole ikinä ennen tavanneet ketään valkoturkkista ja suhtautuvat tähän sen takia vihamielisesti... Mikä nyt neuvoksi?

Kaikkihan me olemme karhuja, turkin väriin katsomatta. Suvaitsevaisuuden merkitystä korostava "Mörkökarhu" (Mäkelä, 2019) edustaa taas vaiheteeksi vähän parempaa David Walliamsia.

Lienee syytä nostaa tähtiluokitus neljään, sen verran isoksi hitiksi tämä satutunnilla osoittautui.

[Alice-Elizabeth (Prolific Reader Alice) · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Walliams loves to write fun and entertaining stories. Boogie Bear was one of his better ones involving a polar bear ending up far away from home and meeting brown bears who are annoyed and don't want it there. Fun story about differences and acceptance!

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boogie Bear

This book is..

Nope..


Weird notes, to much off the same, negative words. We didn't like it.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a surprisingly sweet book. For some reason, I was expecting a completely different story, just from the title. This presents a message of accepting others and the unknown, but in a very humorous way. I loved the "paw notes" sprinkled throughout the book! The illustrations are also wonderful.

[Pieter Decuyper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prachtig voorleesverhaal van David Walliams (voor mij voor eeuwig de komiek uit Little Britain). Het verhaal gaat over een ijsbeer die afdrijft van de noordpool en terecht komt bij bruine beren, maar daar niet al te vriendelijk wordt ontvangen wegens zijn 'andere huidskleur'. Mooi pleidooi voor meer verdraagzaamheid en minder discriminatie, maar dan op kinderniveau...

[Gemma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've yet to read a walliams book I dont love!
This is great.
Romance, humour and a free geography lesson.

I love the side notes on some pages -

" I would not recommend eating Walrus. You have to smother it with tomato ketchup to make it taste nice"

A lovely heartwarming story, with brilliant illustrations from Tony Ross.

[✨ Aaron Jeffery ✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

this was not it. I admire the message but the writing and actual story as well as the audiobook narration was not my vibe.

[Lisa Round · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a nice story making us see how we are equal, yet in different colours. I think it would have been better without some of the notes.

[Simon Mee · Rating 2 out of 5]

The POLAR BEAR is DIFFERENT from the BROWN BEARS. BUT we can ACCEPT that (and like) her for who she is.

Do we need to point the metaphorical finger and say YOU are DIFFERENT but that is OK, congratulating ourselves for being so tolerant? What is "different" these days? We live in increasingly multicultural and liberal societies where what is neither easy nor desirable to identify what is NORMAL.

I am not trying to claim "not to see colour" or similar. I hope instead my point is that maybe, rather than categorizing people and then comparing them to (somehow identifiable) dominant groups, we instead accept that we exist on an infinite number of points on an infinite series of spectrums where, while characteristics may be shared within groups, there are also many many distinctions. Sure, there are shared experiences within roughly defined groups, but I feel like this book was a bit more simplistic than that.

I realise this sounds like a painful overreading of a children's book about accepting people who may not be the same as us, but this book feels clunky and anachronistic in making the point. There are some very very good children book's authors presently, so I feel we can afford be a bit more critical.

For all that, the above isn't why I rate it so low, as my point of view is pretty contestable. My daughter said she doesn't like the book and finds it scary. I have to agree, it is rather confrontational with violent themes, all in the name of "good humour."

[Laura Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Walliams is a number one best-selling children’s author who unfortunately was not writing children’s books when I was a child. However, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Boogie Bear as it made me feel like a child again. The vibrant illustrations by Tony Ross make the book very engaging for younger children as they help to tell the story. The book also supports readers as it has a lot of repetition. For example, throughout the book, the bear repeats the phase “oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!” many times and this means it could become familiar to the children so that they can read it more fluently. Some of the pages also contain humorous post it notes with extra information or comments that may be understood by older children and make the book more interesting and funnier. The book has its speech within speech bubbles so this may make it easier for younger children to understand what is actually being said and the role of speech marks. I liked that the book has an important message that although people look different, we are all the same and should be treated the same. end of the book contrasts from the rest of the book as the bears are living together peacefully and there is no longer large exclamation marks and expression. This could be used to introduce younger children to the idea of prejudice and race which is important in the modern world with the current affairs such as the Black Lives Matter protests.

[Jessica Eady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Choosing this book aware of David Walliams astonishing entrance into the world of children's book however without picking one up myself that I can remember, I selected this book with high hopes!

The ‘Boogie Bear’ is an ideal book for younger children to have read to them during group time or as a reference point to create an elaborated story from. The book contains opportunities for the teacher to create humour and hold the children’s attention in suspense due to the vocab used. Teachers can use the story and vocab to adjust their tone and pitch of voice, creating the tension.
Within the book there is small paw images through out with added comments that include witty and funny remarks that potentially more able pupils will understand and find amusing. In addition, the paws also refer to how the book can be used in other topics such as geography and science. This relates to the use of location in the world and developing children’s understanding of melting.

*SPOILER BELOW*

I would recommend this book due to the underlying messages told throughout the book of being able to love someone regardless of skin colour, subliminally developing children’s understanding of race and inclusion.

[Anu-vinkkari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jääkarhu eksyy ruskeakarhujen maille ja säikäyttää kaikki pahanpäiväisesti. Moinen mörkö on ehdottomasti karkoitettava. Pakomatkan tiimellyksessä valkoinenkarhu lentää kuralätäkköön ja muuttuu ruskeaksi ja takaa-ajajat tunnistavat otuksen karhuksi. Erään naaraskarhun mielestä jopa sangen hurmaavaksi karvapyllyksi (tähän kohtaan pikkukarhu sanoo painokkaasti YÄÄK!). Siinä sitten hierotaan kuonoja (YÖK YÖK!) ja opetellaan uusia tapoja puolin ja toisin ja keväällä on pesä pullollaan kaikenkirjavia karhuvauvoja. The end.

[Francis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Une ourse polaire, qui vivait tranquille au Pôle Nord, se retrouve soudain (à cause du réchauffement climatique?) emporté loin de chez elle, et transporté sur une île où vivent des ours bruns... qui trouvent bizarre, voire dangereux, d'accueillir une ourse blanche! Un album qui aurait pu éveiller d'excellente discussions sur la différence et les conséquences du réchauffement climatique (si c'est bien de cela que l'on parle?), mais qui se perd finalement dans ses digressions trop humoristiques et sa fin un peu cahoteuse...

[Hayley Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story. A polar bear gets lost and ends up getting chased by a group of brown bears who are afraid because she is different. They end up realising she is a bear but a different colour and everyone lives happily ever after. A good story to use in PHSE to discuss differences and how important it is to get to know everyone and that it is ok to be different. You could also link discussions to science topics such as evolution, habitats, animals and forces. There are links to geography.

[Markku Kesti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vaihteeksi sitä parempaa Walliamsia. Keinot ovat toki tuttuja, mutta toimivat silti. Rehellisesti sanoen näissä kuvakirjoissa omaperäisyys ei aina ole se juttu, vaan kuinka se tuttu juttu tehdään. Eli vähän niinkuin Schulz sanoi strippisarjakuvista: Tehdään aina samaa toistamatta koskaan itseään (tarkan sitaatin kaivajat voivat googlata tai päteä jossain muualla!)

Ja olihan loppu lähes ällöttävän siirappinen, mutta menköön nyt yksi onnellinen loppu.

[Tiina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was cute. Son expected something really scary based on the cover, and I think I can refer to this book when we next time encounter a discussion about prejudices. I enjoyed the repetitiveness in the structure and son did not even mind the romance. It was not a laughing out loud -book, but a nice story anyway (and as is, perhaps better as a bed time story than something completely hilarious).

[Audrey Light And Smell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mademoiselle ourse est un album jeunesse truculent qui nous offre une aventure pleine d’humour, tout en abordant avec intelligence le thème du racisme et de la peur de la différence. Drôle, pétillante et magnifiquement illustrée, une jolie histoire pour petits et grands…

Avis détaillé sur https://lightandsmell.wordpress.com/2...

[Charlotte Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

An adventurous book about a polar bear who ends up being very far away by home. She is picked on by brown bears, who come to reason she is different, but that’s okay. She fulls in love with a brown bear and they have lovely little bears that are all different. Get topics (acceptance, differences, diversity, love, friendship, family, bravery, persistence in hard times).

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one got lots of chuckles! It was a great way to start a discussion for Pink Shirt Day. Often, we get to know someone and find out that there is MUCH that we have in common and much to appreciate about each other. This one brings you to that topic with a good laugh along the way. We love David Walliams!

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

My six and a half year old read this by himself and loved it. He liked details like the ‘littlest bear’ character who progressively gets more annoyed ( I liked the varied vocabulary like ‘fumed/ enraged’). Great storytelling and fun illustrations to keep his reading focused until the end of the book.
We’re looking to read other David Walliams picture books next!

[Sean Harding · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this is the first David Williams book that I have ever read, and it is a fine little picture book where the essential boiled down message is to celebrate the differences in each other. A fine little book, and I shall be interested to read, at some point in the future some of his longer books.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ihan hauska David Walliamsin teos pitkästä aikaa! Kuvitus oli oikein herkullinen. Olisin toivonut jääkarhuneidille hieman monipuolisempia vuorosanoja, mutta kuulijakuntaa vuorosanat tuntuivat naurattavan aivan tarpeeksi.

[Bec · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet story about being scared of different and learning to embrace it.

[Elise Quinn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it was funny on the cover of the book because the polar bear was covered in mud! I love the fur of polar bears.

[BookBoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short fantasy story

It is a funny and hilarious book with many exciting parts to it. In the end it is a lovely story

[Hazel · Rating 5 out of 5]

leuk

[Janika Puolitaival · Rating 5 out of 5]

Huumorin avulla peloista ja erilaisuudesta. Kuvituksessa riittää tutkittavaa.

[Amelia S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute story of being different and understanding and accepting.

[Lisa Murtaza]

Good for pointing out and accepting peoples differences. Social justice. KS1 and foundation

[Jackie Mc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well Wow what a book, David Walliams has done it again. It's just so funny!
keep them coming David!