Book Review | The Little Bear and The Big Bear by Monica Dumont

There once were two bears. The big bear was always angry and the little bear was always happy. The little bear had wisdom to impart to a very grumpy big bear. The little bear recognized emotions such as frustration, anxiety, and anger, and he knew how to change the course of events by changing one’s attitude and response.

Sounds like a mouthful for a little book? Well, here’s the short version of it: happy little bear meets big grumpy bear; and little bear teaches big bear how to work out his problems and deal with his feelings.

Either way, long or short version, the book The Little Bear and The Big Bear written by Monica Dumont is designed to help kids’ ages 3 to 7 deal with feelings of frustration and anxiety. It’s a practical demonstration on how to identify negative emotions such as anxiety and sadness; and it is also an effective guide in helping kids to deal with their feelings one step at a time.

The book is also designed to help parents and caregivers recognize and assist kids with negative emotions. Author Monica Dumont notes that ‘the exercise (of taking one small step at a time) is meant to help parents bond with their child[ren] as well as to help their child[ren] develop new skills at dealing with everyday life. It is not meant to be used as a form of therapy.”

One should note also that the book encourages kids to share their feeling and help their peers to overcome negative emotions by recognizing the root cause of the crises. In verbalizing these emotions, kids are able to identify with them and deal with situations eventually on their own, which are good practical skills to acquire and develop.

The Little Bear and The Big Bear by Monica Dumont is available in soft cover paperback. Other children’s book titles by the author are:

·        Blueblah The Sleepy Raccoon

·        Emma The Bumble Bee

·        Alex and the Rabbit

Happy Reading!

Book Reviews | A Tale of Two Turtles and A Whale’s Tale by Richard Marman

Written and illustrated by Richard Marman, A Tale of Two Turtles, and its sequel A Whale’s Tale, are fun educational reads for kids ages 5 to 8.

Both books provide an effective teaching guide for parents and teachers to help kids know more about different species of fish and marine life found in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.  The books are illustrated by Richard Marman and they are simple, yet imaginative and creative.  The illustrations help depict the reality of daily life for all marine species in these waters, some of which are thought provoking and insightful.  The illustrations also help to convey to the reader, the message of environmental responsibility and awareness.  With an expressive style of digital airbrushing and watercolor techniques, the pages come alive with color and vibrancy which kids will certainly appreciate when reading the stories.

A Tale of Two Turtles follows the life story of a young female turtle named Wave, and a young male turtle (Web) who later became her friend, and the adventures they both face as they navigate tropical waters and encountered both natural and man-made hazards which are unfortunately typical to earth’s marine life.  A Tale of Two Turtles gives insightful tidbits about the turtle’s perilous life and the odds they face of even one in a batch surviving. The story is broken down successfully in order to educate kids about marine life and their responsibility in helping to keep the ocean safe. For example, Web’s chilling tale of chomping on a plastic bag thinking it was a jellyfish, is an effective way of getting the message across to kids and adults that littering the beach with hazardous waste material like plastic bags is certainly not a good thing.

In A Whale’s Tale, Wave and Web met a humpback whale (Davo) who shares his story and experience of his annual migration from Antarctica to the warm tropical waters of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.  Davo’s adventure provides insight about the dangers humpback whales face from human predators that, despite the law, still practice whaling as a sport and for consumption.  Readers will be educated on the dangers of whaling, and hopefully this thought-provoking read will motivate children and adults to take a stand against such practices, and eventually one day it will cease altogether.

Other books by Richard Marman are McAlister’s Way, McAlister’s Hoard, and McAlister’s Spark. See our Press Release on these books and visit with the author on his website for more information.

Happy Reading!