Amazon.co.uk Review When Allan Ahlberg fails to fulfil his promise as a storyteller, The Bravest Ever Bear takes over. Not content with playing bit parts in Ahlberg's jaded imagination, the bear sets to work to create a better story than his creator ever intended.
Of course heroics and glory for the bear are a forgone conclusion, but when his friends (the princess, the dragon, the wolf and the troll, the wedding cake and the sausage) see what telling your own story can be like, they join in too, and the result is a collection of entertaining, contemporary takes on traditional fairy tales.
Colourful, glossy illustrations by Paul Howard back up the visual interest of the differently sized print, and the whole is a fun-filled ride through young imaginations that results in rather different stories than you would usually expect. The only one who didn't have his say was Penguin … perhaps there will be a sequel … (Ages 5 to 7.) --Lucie Naylor
Customer Reviews:
Push off, PenguinMay 11, 2008 Everyone in our house loves this book and though I have read it aloud umpteen times I would happily read it aloud again.
As another reviewer has noted, it's very 'postmodern', but don't let that put you off. It is hilarious, slipping from one narrator to another and allowing a parent who enjoys theatrics to try out an assortment of voices. Even when children can read for themselves, they can still be found with this in bed with them.
'Push off, Penguin' has become a family catchphrase: can there be higher praise?
The Bravest Ever BearMarch 30, 2006 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
My five year old loved this story so much that he has repeatedly taken it out of his school library for two whole terms!!! It makes him laugh every time he reads it. The whole family have read this book to him at various times and everyone has enjoyed it. I would highly recommend this book.
The Post-Modernist Ever Picture BookJanuary 13, 2004 1 out of 3 found this review helpful
Children love this book because it asks them to use their own intelligence and judgement. It is not a straightforward linear story and contains many of the features of postmodern literature: The Bravest Ever Bear plays with form more than any other children's picture book which I have read; The bear himself is an unreliable narrator - eager to convince us of his bravery, but he is interupted several times and the story told by multiple voices, another feature of post-modern literature; Finally, there is the post-modern distrust of final endings, and as this book reaches its last page, we see in the corner that yet another author (the penguin) is preparing to write his version of the tale, there are also several different possible endings and THE END appears several times. Children will just know that this story is told in a more interesting way than they are used to and that it is not busy telling them The Way It Is, as adults usually are in the rest of their lives. The illustrations are also detailed and very funny.
Funny - everything an adult wants from a kids' book!December 12, 2001 2 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book leaves you wanting to read it over and over again. The illustrations are excellent and you find somethng different every time you read it. A lot of the humour will be lost on little ones but the adults will be rolling around, crying with hysterical laughter.
