This book was uncovered from a pile of books at the library by Little Q's Grandma, she just pulled it out and went ' ooh I like this illustration style' and I just leapt to have a look! That is a strong argument for a lovely clear front cover! Also the title was clear and implied some sharing social skills exploring which with a 2 yr old is quite the recurring theme!
Basic plot: Little mouse finds a bear sitting on his chair, Bear is oblivious to Little Mouse's annoyance and the story is about different ways to get your own way (both right and wrong) and the outcome is a nice twist on what can happen if you do ignore other peoples needs!
I'll be honest, on first read I missed the point of this book (blame it on a long day!) and just enjoyed the funny aspects of Little Mouse trying to get his chair back but this book does have a good message about sharing and awareness of others emotional being.
There is a gentle rhythm and rhyme to the text which makes it captivating and an easy read. Little Q loved pointing out who was where and what was going on.
The story is a good discussion starter for slightly older kids on how others are impacted by your actions, Little Q is 2 and a bit and I think at this age actions speak louder than words when you are trying to teach awareness of others so we enjoyed it as a good tale and kept our discussions to 'what is mouse doing? ' and she was able to say what each animal was doing and starting to identify that Little Mouse might be annoyed / sad/ frustrated / angry with Bear.
The twist at the end was a giggler and made it's point nicely (once I'd woken up and recognised it!)
The illustrations are charming and whilst they look simple the range of emotions conveyed is amazing and the lack of backgrounds in most spreads really focus's the eye.
#theresabearonmychair #rosscollins #bear #sharing #socialskills #acceptance #toddlerreading #encouragingreading #childrensbooks #childrensillustrations #parenting #storytime #books #eveningroutine
If you've liked what I've shared you can get the book here:
But please do come back and let me know what you and most importantly your little one's think!