This Is the Bear and the Scary Night

by Sarah Hayes, Helen Craig

The boy, the bear and the dog are the best of friends. But one day the bear gets lost and has to be searched for high and low. In This is the Bear and the Scary Night, the bear gets accidentally left behind in the park and has a scary night adventure! These delightful picture books are two of four in an early reader series that has been a huge success in the trade, schools and libraries.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Classics

Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Sue Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not only does this lovely book contain some gorgeous rhyme, and I am always on the look out for that, but it tells the story of such a familiar childhood situation, that of leaving a teddy somewhere and having to go back for him or her the next day! I also love the illustrations of the owl in this book. So many reasons to read it!

[Lauren Drake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book following the adventure of a bear who gets left in a park by his owner overnight. This would be a lovely book to use in the early years setting and year 1, both as a whole class text and 1:1. The text is large and simple making it readable to children and is complemented by the illustrations. This is likely a situation that is relatable to many children - leaving a toy somewhere which could encourage a discussion about this and how the toy may have felt - what could their adventure have been (this could be a great literacy session). The use of rhyme is good and this book could be used to introduce younger children to rhyme and rhythm.
The main message of this book is to tell children that even in scary situations, they can still be brave.

[Ryan Brinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

My new favourite book!!!!!!

[Abby Stapleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

i did actually read this the other day for the childhood nostalgia but i don’t think it’s fair to count it towards my reading goal lmao. anyway 10/10 book

[Sophie Harman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was used in my year one class in English during SEA. 'This is the bear and the scary night' by Sarah Hayes is about a boy who leaves his bear in the park, the bear is very scared and can see some eyes looking at him! The bear is taken by an owl and dropped into a pond, however, is rescued by a man with his trombone. The boy goes back to the park to find his bear and takes him home.

This is a great book that captivates children straight away, they can express themselves through role play and act out the story themselves, considering the bears feelings.
This book encouraged some great descriptive writing, children were encouraged to think of a place that they had left their bear, and who might of rescued him. The children also got to experience narrating the story in ICT, they recorded themselves retelling the story. This activity encouraged children to develop their speaking skills in story telling, which was great for children with EAL.

I would recommend this book to anyone working in ks1, as it is enjoyable, engaging and enables lots of opportunities for children to develop their writing, reading, listening and speaking skills.

[Taslema · Rating 5 out of 5]

In This is the Bear and the Scary Night, the bear accidentally gets left behind in the park and has a scary night adventure. This book was used in my English lesson and encouraged descriptive writing. Children used the story as a basis to write their own descriptive story about the setting and how their characters got lost. The book is also a great read and captivated children’s imagination. They also had the opportunity to discuss the bear’s feelings and role- play the story, which encourage children to develop their speaking skills. This book would be suitable for ks1 and ks2, as it is enjoyable, engaging and creates lots of opportunities for children to develop their writing.

[Aly Langer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the bear and the scary night by Sarah Hayes, Fiction. The teaching point in this book is to show children that they can be brave even in scary situations. It also helps promote literacy through Rhythm.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alissa was worried when the owl took the bear and dropped him.

[JL · Rating 4 out of 5]

I both love it and hate it. Maybe I could read it again next time.

[Faucet . · Rating 4 out of 5]

scared me as a child idk

[Daisy P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brief Plot Summary

A boy leaves his best friend, his teddy bear, behind in a park, and so follows a beautifully illustrated and poetic tale of the bear’s scary adventure through the night. Along the way, the bear encounters night owls, flying, a pond and a very nice man and eventually finds his best friend again to tell his tale of bravery.

I loved this story as it was the sweetest story of a bear’s bravery through a scary time. I especially loved the fact that the story rhymed as it had a rhythm that kept the story upbeat and genuine. It evoked the right emotions at the right times in the story and the story had a quick but happy ending which was lovely.

Appropriate Age Range:
Ages 4 and above

How it could be used in the classroom?

This sort of story can be used to encourage descriptive writing. The children can be given an imaginary scenario where they’ve misplaced the bear and who would have rescued him. Also, this story can also be retold with actions, which would encourage speaking and listening skills and would particularly help with EAL children to express themselves without the language barrier, allowing equal access to the curriculum.

[Debbie Rosaman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely book that charts the unintended adventure of a much-loved teddy bear that gets left behind in a park, accidentally. It is beautifully illustrated with big, explicit pictures which allow lots of clear reinforcement of the story. The pictures also provide children opportunities to read between the lines of the story, elaborating on the themes and therefore expanding their own imagination.

This book is clearly for KS1 children. It is ideal as a story-time book for younger children and as such offers lots of opportunities to discus different feelings, especially around the concept of having to be brave when things go wrong. It is written in rhymes and each page is linked to a stage in the bear’s adventure. It is a useful book to explore and demonstrate how words rhyme. This is also an asset as it has a certain predictability that would make it more enjoyable and easier for young children to read.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deservedly on the list for the 1001 Children’s Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up. Must obtain this for my library. Bear is lost and has a serious of adventures before finally returning to the one who loves him. Lovely story.

[Brenna Call · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't judge a book by it's cover! I started out thinking I wouldn't like this book but I ended up enjoying it. The pictures aren't my favorite but the story is original and the rhyme is good.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nicely illustrated story of a bear who is left by his boy and the adventure the bear has overnight. I would use this story to discuss bravery and the emotions the bear my have felt.

[Buxmont Uu]

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