Rabbit & Bear by Julian Gough and Jim Field is a scrumptious book. I love the tactile hardback format and the gorgeous use of the icy turquoise colour throughout.
‘Bear wakes up early from hibernation and decides if she can’t sleep then at least she can make a snowman. She soon meets Rabbit, who is an Expert in Gravity, who never ever smiles, and has never said the word F-U-N before. But with avalanches and hungry wolves on the prowl, Rabbit soon realised that sometimes it’s nice to have a friend on your side and someone to share your winter with.’
Jim Field is a master of expression and the perfect match for Julian Gough’s writing. There’s a lovely mix of poo humour and mild peril, brilliant for reading aloud dramatically with comedy voices, making this a book that will become a firm favourite with kids and adults alike.
The thing that really caught me was the balance of the text. It doesn’t talk down to children but doesn’t ‘do a Pixar’ and try too hard to appeal to the adults and end up going over the children’s heads. It’s perfect for newly confident readers; there’s not too much text per page but Gough uses complicated sentence structure and wonderful vocabulary that will challenge an independent reader. We had a great discussion about the language and structure of the text and why some words had a capital letter for emphasis, even though it ‘breaks the phonics rules’ (take that, Gove/Morgan). I love it when a book opens up a reader’s eyes like that. Bravo, Gough, Field and the Hodder team. I can’t wait for the next instalment!
Source: review copy kindly sent by Hodder Children’s Books.
Rhino Reads 
I love how much is in the few pages you’ve shown! Can imagine there’s so much more in the whole book! Literacy, science and friendship too! This book would be a fab group read, topic link and just for bedtime with my kids too!
Love a Mummy and Teacher x