We are huge fans of Oliver Jeffers and I had thought we owned all of his books, until Ivy spotted this one in our local bookshop and started gleefully shouting ‘Bear! Bear! Bear!’. This is a special board book version of an earlier work called The Great Paper Caper.
The animals in the forest are all very confused. Lots and lots of branches were going missing from trees and their beloved home is beginning to look a little forlorn. What is happening to all the trees? At first the animals all blame each other but it soon becomes clear they all have alibis. Until one day they find a paper aeroplane with Bear’s paw prints all over it.
Is Bear responsible for damaging the trees and lying to his friends? And what’s with all the paper aeroplanes?
Like all of Oliver Jeffers‘ works, this lovely little book gives me a nice warm fuzzy feeling when I read it to Ivy. There’s something about his words and illustrations that is really comforting. Every book is like a little hug!
As well as looking beautiful, this book tackles two serious issues – the importance of honesty and the impact of our actions on the environment. Bear learns that by being dishonest to his friends he has hurt them, when if they had known the truth about his paper aeroplane ‘habit’ they could potentially have helped them. He also learns that by cutting the branches off the trees he has damaged the habitat in which they live and he makes amends by planting seeds which will grow in to new trees which everyone can enjoy.
Buy it now: https://amzn.to/2twGjVx