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Orange Pear Apple Bear
An orange, a pear, an apple and a bear. Deliciously simple. Perfectly fun. The utter simplicity of this beautiful picture book is breathtaking. By rearranging just four words, Emily Gravett creates a series of playful images which are a sheer joy and intensely satisfying. The loose energy of the pencil and watercolour pictures will be irresistible to adults and children alike.
32 pages, Paperback
First published March 3, 2006
21 people are currently reading
1572 people want to read
About the author
Emily Gravett
81 books281 followersEmily Gravett is twice winner of the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal and the Nestlé Children's Book Prize Bronze Award for WOLVES and LITTLE MOUSE'S BIG BOOK OF FEARS. An author/illustrator of unique talent and tremendous skill, she has a host of critically acclaimed books to her name, including BLUE CHAMELEON, WOLF WON'T BITE! and AGAIN! Emily lives in Brighton with her partner and their daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 477 reviews
March 9, 2011
Yay! Finally an Emily Gravett book that I really like. (Thanks to my friends who encouraged me to read this one!) This one is so cute! The story is made up of four words (orange, pear, apple, bear) arranged in different ways to convey different meanings--the illustrations help a lot with conveying the meanings, too. Together, they create a fun and charming story that will especially appeal to those of us who enjoy the complexities of sentence structure and language and how punctuation and sequence mold meaning. Or, you could just read it because the bear is really, really cute ;-)
October 24, 2011
CONCEPT
This book is a concept book, and the publisher suggested it for ages 1-4. I think that the age range should be higher, because it attempts to involve the concept of dual meanings and grammatical syntax.. Gravett only uses 5 words throughout the book, and uses the illustrations to convey the meaning. The first few pages show an orange, a pear, an apple, and a bear. The next page shows an apple and a pear, and the next page shows an orange bear, followed by an orange pear. Thus, the different arrangements of the words and the use of commas dictate each illustration. I think maybe 4-6 year olds would understand this concept more thoroughly than 1-4 year olds. I think that this would be a great book to read to a kindergarten class to see if they catch on to the relationship between words and illustrations.
This book is a concept book, and the publisher suggested it for ages 1-4. I think that the age range should be higher, because it attempts to involve the concept of dual meanings and grammatical syntax.. Gravett only uses 5 words throughout the book, and uses the illustrations to convey the meaning. The first few pages show an orange, a pear, an apple, and a bear. The next page shows an apple and a pear, and the next page shows an orange bear, followed by an orange pear. Thus, the different arrangements of the words and the use of commas dictate each illustration. I think maybe 4-6 year olds would understand this concept more thoroughly than 1-4 year olds. I think that this would be a great book to read to a kindergarten class to see if they catch on to the relationship between words and illustrations.
February 25, 2024
As a library worker colleague said, “It hurt my brain.” But it’s cool.
September 12, 2019
The perfect picture-book selection for toddlers, Emily Gravett's Orange Pear Apple Bear takes four words (the ones in the title), some adorable illustrations, and an innovative approach to storytelling, and delivers a book that is both informative and entertaining. Without ever seeming to teach, the narrative demonstrates how meaning can change, simply by switching around the order of the words, and the punctuation used to separate them. Thus "Orange Bear" gives us an orange bear, but "Orange, Bear," gives us our ursine friend consuming a citrus treat.
The 'lesson' here is conveyed simply, without any fanfare - young readers probably won't even notice that there is a lesson - making it the ideal concept book for the very young. The artwork (watercolor, I think?) is cute - I loved the apple and pear-shaped bear butts! (because obviously toddlers aren't the only ones at the right maturity level for this one) - and the painting to page ratio isn't overwhelming (lots of blank page), giving this a very 'clean' and simple feeling. Recommended to anyone looking for creative picture-books for the younger set, and to Emily Gravett fans.
The 'lesson' here is conveyed simply, without any fanfare - young readers probably won't even notice that there is a lesson - making it the ideal concept book for the very young. The artwork (watercolor, I think?) is cute - I loved the apple and pear-shaped bear butts! (because obviously toddlers aren't the only ones at the right maturity level for this one) - and the painting to page ratio isn't overwhelming (lots of blank page), giving this a very 'clean' and simple feeling. Recommended to anyone looking for creative picture-books for the younger set, and to Emily Gravett fans.
June 30, 2024
Current favourite banger. Simple and complex, rhythmic and funny. Short and sweet. A perfectly delightful read for wee people.
March 10, 2011
Only five words are used throughout this book, and what's fun is to see that the meanings change depending on how the words are arranged. I imagine children will enjoy seeing the silly way the meanings change, and it's a good way to introduce them to words and word order. The illustrations are fun and cute and overall I would recommend this title.
May 15, 2017
Ingenious word juggling with equally brilliant illustrations:
May 30, 2008
Fun. Whimsical. Charming. Cute. Educational. Five (other) words in the book and inventive and intriguing pictures. This is a terrific book for very young children, although, for the very young especially, the adult reading it could enhance the experience of the book by explaining some of the combinations of shapes and colors that match the pictures to the words.
December 18, 2018
Beautiful illustrations and very clever how Gravett only uses five words, but changes the meanings of these words depending on the way they are rearranged. Would easily appeal to young children and would help them to visually understand the difference between the objects i.e. apples and pears.
October 17, 2015
A delightful little board book that wee ones will "read" to you just by naming the picture on the page.
November 24, 2017
A delightful book about playing around with four words, ORANGE PEAR APPLE BEAR, to make new scenarios!
July 31, 2023
This one is really odd. My little one was not a fan
November 4, 2019
In this book there are only five words, it's simple and very effective. It's accessible for early readers but also for more confident readers as they can see how they change meaning depending on the order of the words. The use of punctuation also changes the meaning and this would be a good opportunity to talk to children about the importance of punctuation. The illustrations are lovely and compliment the text well
August 31, 2024
Rather repetitive, but the illustrations were well done!
August 23, 2019
Orange Pear Apple Bear by Emily Gravett, is a lovely water-colour picture book about a bear and fruits, and how he plays with them, compares himself to them to finally decide to eat all of them
The story (mostly pictural) is based on only four words Orange, Pear, Apple and Bear, and is yet very sweet, amusing, eye- capturing and easy to read and understand.
This book provides good reading material for young children or children in Key Stage 1 or Foundation level Stages of their education, as it is easy to understand (there’s only 4 words to the story) and the vocabulary in the book can easily be learned and remembered.
As a tool for teaching English or helping children build confidence in their speech, this story could be acted out. Children would be asked to improvise a performance out of the book, by for example having a child narrate the story while the others, actors, perform the actions and dancing movements of the bear with the fruits.
I thought of this as well and I think it has already been mentioned in one of the reviews for this book but this story could also be used as a ‘whimsical incentive’ to healthier eating by eating more fruits and vegetables as it can be a ‘fun thing to do’ just like that bear that clearly enjoyed doing.
The story (mostly pictural) is based on only four words Orange, Pear, Apple and Bear, and is yet very sweet, amusing, eye- capturing and easy to read and understand.
This book provides good reading material for young children or children in Key Stage 1 or Foundation level Stages of their education, as it is easy to understand (there’s only 4 words to the story) and the vocabulary in the book can easily be learned and remembered.
As a tool for teaching English or helping children build confidence in their speech, this story could be acted out. Children would be asked to improvise a performance out of the book, by for example having a child narrate the story while the others, actors, perform the actions and dancing movements of the bear with the fruits.
I thought of this as well and I think it has already been mentioned in one of the reviews for this book but this story could also be used as a ‘whimsical incentive’ to healthier eating by eating more fruits and vegetables as it can be a ‘fun thing to do’ just like that bear that clearly enjoyed doing.
August 23, 2019
This a a lovely book using only 5 words throughout the whole story. The story uses just 4 words organised in different ways to give different meanings until the last page where the last word is used. This story could be read to very young children as well as being used with slightly older children to show how words can give different meanings when used differently. This would be an enjoyable book to read with children and the illustrations are beautiful.
October 31, 2018
Everyone can remember a time when grammar has failed them. The results are usually quite amusing, whether someone likes cooking their family and their cat rather then cooking, their family and their cat or whether a driver is being made aware of slow children crossing, rather then being told to drive slow because children are crossing. Grammar is hard but teaching grammar shouldn't be. Orange Pear Apple Bear it a fantastic book to use to show children the importance of a comma. It shows clearly how missing one out can drastically change the meaning of what written. This book would be a great classroom aid for use when introducing commas and as refresher for those older children who still haven't quite got it, or for those who don't really understand why they are using them.
Grammar aside now, this book is, to quote eh back cover "Deliciously simple. Perfectly fun". Only 4 words are used throughout, the title words: Orange Pear Apple Bear. But they are used so effective you don't realise how simple the text actually is. The text is accompanied by some superb illustrations that show exactly what the text portrays. I rad this book over and over its super!
Grammar aside now, this book is, to quote eh back cover "Deliciously simple. Perfectly fun". Only 4 words are used throughout, the title words: Orange Pear Apple Bear. But they are used so effective you don't realise how simple the text actually is. The text is accompanied by some superb illustrations that show exactly what the text portrays. I rad this book over and over its super!
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May 1, 2012Orange Pear Apple Bear by Emily Gravett
This is such a beautiful book about a bear and fruit! Only four words go into this whimsical story but it is the illustrations that capture the children’s attentions. The illustrations are loose watercolours that suit the quirky nature of this book perfectly. Children laugh with joy at the simplicity of it and I would recommend it for anyone who loves beautiful books. It is a great book to use in the Foundation Stage or possibly in Key Stage one for those just grasping English as there are only four words!
Possible suggestions for using this book in a lesson could be to make crossovers with healthy eating and making posters with fruit and veg encouraging healthy eating. It could also be nice to make some performance of the book as it would be very simple but it could still provide a challenge for the children. They could compose atmospheric music that could be played while someone reads and others perform movements to the words.
This is such a beautiful book about a bear and fruit! Only four words go into this whimsical story but it is the illustrations that capture the children’s attentions. The illustrations are loose watercolours that suit the quirky nature of this book perfectly. Children laugh with joy at the simplicity of it and I would recommend it for anyone who loves beautiful books. It is a great book to use in the Foundation Stage or possibly in Key Stage one for those just grasping English as there are only four words!
Possible suggestions for using this book in a lesson could be to make crossovers with healthy eating and making posters with fruit and veg encouraging healthy eating. It could also be nice to make some performance of the book as it would be very simple but it could still provide a challenge for the children. They could compose atmospheric music that could be played while someone reads and others perform movements to the words.
February 11, 2008
Here's an example of the sort of book that the Caldecott types would miss--but no parent of a small child should.
This is a deceptively simple book. As my all-knowing :) assistant points out, there are more words in the jacket flap description than there are in the text!
And there ARE only 5 words in the text--the first 4 are in the title. But what amazing things can be done with just those 5 little words, arranged in different combinations! The illustrations are just right too--not perfectly colored, so that they stray over the borders just as a young child might do and make this even more child friendly.
Perfect in every way, right down to the bold print that would make this equally suited for a very early reader, and the illustrations on their end papers. Put down "sophisticated" stuff for a few minutes and enjoy this gem!
This is a deceptively simple book. As my all-knowing :) assistant points out, there are more words in the jacket flap description than there are in the text!
And there ARE only 5 words in the text--the first 4 are in the title. But what amazing things can be done with just those 5 little words, arranged in different combinations! The illustrations are just right too--not perfectly colored, so that they stray over the borders just as a young child might do and make this even more child friendly.
Perfect in every way, right down to the bold print that would make this equally suited for a very early reader, and the illustrations on their end papers. Put down "sophisticated" stuff for a few minutes and enjoy this gem!
February 3, 2009
Title:
Orange Pear Apple Bear
Author:
Emily Gravett
Publisher and Year:
Simon and Schuster, 2007
Genre: Educational; fiction
Ages: 1 - 4
Synopsis: A book with little plot, Orange Pear Apple Bear consists of those four words in different combinations, with illustrations to match. The only real character in this book is the Bear, and the illustrations show the interactions the different items have with each other when they are written in different orders and combinations.
Reaction?: I LOVED the illustrations in this book! They were so simple and amusing to look at, especially the bear and the way he interacted with the fruit -- and his expressions when he changes color! I thought it was a great way to introduce kids to word order and how when you switch around words in a sentence they can have a totally new meaning.
Orange Pear Apple Bear
Author:
Emily Gravett
Publisher and Year:
Simon and Schuster, 2007
Genre: Educational; fiction
Ages: 1 - 4
Synopsis: A book with little plot, Orange Pear Apple Bear consists of those four words in different combinations, with illustrations to match. The only real character in this book is the Bear, and the illustrations show the interactions the different items have with each other when they are written in different orders and combinations.
Reaction?: I LOVED the illustrations in this book! They were so simple and amusing to look at, especially the bear and the way he interacted with the fruit -- and his expressions when he changes color! I thought it was a great way to introduce kids to word order and how when you switch around words in a sentence they can have a totally new meaning.
September 5, 2012
I loved this book. It was amazing how Gravett took 4 simple words and developed them into a number of different concepts. The objects were initially introduced separately, but each new page mixed up the words to create a number of different colored fruits and a bear. This book demonstrated the power of a few simple words, and how simply, by mixing them up, you can create a number of different ideas. I have read this book aloud to children at my daycare, and they loved it. It goes along well with an activity where you choose 4 different words and have the children mix them up to create different ideas. The pictures are simple on a white background, but they are gorgeous watercolor paintings that pop right off of the page. The coloring of the pictures help to develop the different color ideas that the author creates with her words.
March 8, 2016
Children's Book
Author Emily Gravett has won several awards, including the Kate Greenaway Medal, the Macmillan Prize, and the Nestle Children's Book Prize Bronze Award.
A G/R friend's review of this charming, inventive book, using only the four words in the title, plus one more word, sent me off to the library.
I highly recommend this book to everyone, even if you don't have children to read it to. It's so clever and fun. This book would, I think, encourage children's minds to think outside the box.
Author Emily Gravett has won several awards, including the Kate Greenaway Medal, the Macmillan Prize, and the Nestle Children's Book Prize Bronze Award.
A G/R friend's review of this charming, inventive book, using only the four words in the title, plus one more word, sent me off to the library.
I highly recommend this book to everyone, even if you don't have children to read it to. It's so clever and fun. This book would, I think, encourage children's minds to think outside the box.
January 7, 2013
Orange Pear Apple Bear is a book that uses four different words throughout the story and rearranges them in a different order to give a slightly different meaning to each part of the story.
I think this story would be good for younger children as it repeats the words quite often and uses them in different contexts, for example an orange bear aswel as showing the orange fruit. The book also uses rhyming words and is a nice easy introduction to rhyming for younger children.
I think this story would be good for younger children as it repeats the words quite often and uses them in different contexts, for example an orange bear aswel as showing the orange fruit. The book also uses rhyming words and is a nice easy introduction to rhyming for younger children.
August 7, 2018
There's just something extra special and sweet about this book. Everyone in my household loves it and we cuddle on the sofa often to enjoy it together. I adore when I hear my girls reading it together by themselves. My four year old reads it to her two year old sister who loves to yell "bear!" at the appropriate spots. This book has given my little family lots of special moments together that I'm sure I'll cherish as memories when my girls are older.
December 19, 2011
I saw this in a bookstore and picked it up because, yes, I sometimes do judge a book by its cover. What a wonderful book! In just five words and lovely, lively pictures, Emily Gravett captures the reader's attention as orange, pear, apple and bear are imaginatively recombined and rearranged. There!
December 27, 2016
This is one of my favorite picture books of all time and I use it often. The text only contains 5 words total, but the genius part about this book is how they are arranged in linguistically satisfying ways to round out the book.
Watercolor artwork showcases the playful combinations of words. Overall, a great read aloud for PreK-2.
Watercolor artwork showcases the playful combinations of words. Overall, a great read aloud for PreK-2.
September 21, 2015
I liked the illustrations and the playful rearrangement of the four words, but Will thought it was a little pointless and seemed to feel cheated that when he got to the end he had read the same four words over and over again and it passed for a "book." ;) Beatrice seemed to enjoy it but was unable to comment for this review besides an enigmatic: "boof."
September 29, 2018
I am so amused by this book. No storyline, one only character and three fruits. But it is so cute!
PSHE: it is very helpful to improve EY children to improve their ability to distinguish similar and different language sounds, especially tone, tempo and beat, and to get aware of alliteration, ryhme and rhythm.
PSHE: it is very helpful to improve EY children to improve their ability to distinguish similar and different language sounds, especially tone, tempo and beat, and to get aware of alliteration, ryhme and rhythm.
December 16, 2012
Using five words in the entire book but mixing them up in creative ways along with luscious illustrations, this picture book centers around a very large bear who juggles various fruits and then eventually eats them. The colors and shapes are intriguing even after multiple readings.
February 3, 2016
This is a great book for early readers as the words match perfectly to the pictures, and there are really only 4 words in the whole book. I read it tonight with my 4 1/2 year old. A great confidence builder. And a very cute book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 477 reviews