Help teach your little one about the rewards of gift giving, rather than receiving, in Merry Christmas, Big Hungry Bear! The playful tone of this book is recognized right away as the anonymous narrator speaks directly to the little mouse in the pictures, taking him by complete surprise! The narration is written in such a natural way that you can literally hear the narrator's voice in your head while you read. The narrator flatters little Mouse by complimenting him on all his presents, and then casually mentions the nearby Big Hungry Bear who will do anything for presents. Little Mouse's facial expressions are absolutely priceless and say more than he ever could with dialogue, which is perhaps why he wasn't given any. The pictures are extraordinary, filled to the edges with color and detail; readers will not be able to look away!
This is a great book to bring out around Christmas time and read to your little one each year, as they will continue to enjoy it and get more out of it. They will recognized and appreciate the mouse's funny body language right away, and as you child grows, they will understand the humor of the narrator toying with the gullible mouse. First, the narrator tells of the 'big hungry bear', which causes the little Mouse to overreact and chain his presents down, nail his front door and windows shut, and lay out tacks - spikes up - all over the floor. But then the narrator reveals that the bear has never gotten any presents - not even from Santa Clause - the little mouse's fear turns to pity, and he decides to haul all of his gifts up the big hill and leave them outside the dark scary cave for the bear. Excited about Christmas themselves, your child can relate to the little Mouse's pride and excitement about all of his presents. Hopefully, however, they will also get the final message that Christmas is more about sharing than how many presents you get.
My friend Nick wanted to read this book every night between Thanksgiving and Christmas when it was first introduced to him. He loved the idea of the extra large present at the end, and made a game of guessing what was in it. Some of his ideas were "a car, a giant block of cheese, or a giant jar of honey." I think Nick was thinking of Pooh Bear with that last one.
--Audra