Happy Birthday Old Bear by Jane Hissey

Review by The Mole

Old Bear is now 30 years old! And to celebrate there's a brand new story with new illustrations.

All his friends set about organising a birthday party with presents, cake and music when suddenly a gust of wind carries Elsie away on an umbrella, but in true Old Bear style the day is saved and a wonderful time is had by all.

Once again Jane Hissey has beautifully illustrated this book using her and her families soft toys as models.

Old Bear and his friends are a rare breed of characters. Every one is kind and considerate without a trace of selfishness in their character. This makes them universally acceptable to millions of people around the world.

With over 7 million books published throughout the world Jane Hissey's characters are widely read in 20 different languages. And this book is to be launched on 9th September 2016 - National Teddy Bear Day!

We have come a long way since 1986 but Old Bear has remained a constant in all that time - something to cherish and enjoy with children. Here's to the next 30 years Old Bear.

Happy Birthday Old Bear!

Publisher - Scribblers Books
Genre - Keepsake picture book, Children's

Old Bear's Bedtime Stories by Jane Hissey

Review by The Mole

This book very much speaks for itself - it's a beautiful book to look at, a beautiful book to hold, and a beautiful book to read.

When you open the book the first page you come to is "This book belongs to" - all the really greatest books have that page and it smacks of a book to keep, to share, to pass on to future generations. Every page is a delight with full colour, beautiful, lifelike drawings of the characters in the stories!

When our children were younger I would read them bedtime stories every night and this was, for me, the most special time of the day.

There were a few "special" books and Jane Hissey's Teddy Bear Tales was one such book. This collection of 21 stories and poems is not all new and some of them have been in previous books - including Teddy Bear Tales - but there are many new ones too and they have been written and drawn specifically for this new collection. The link of the old stories to the new stories ensures, in my opinion, a continuity and reassurance to the older fans that Old Bear remains unchanged for the new generations and is something we can share - even if we start to get behind in other areas of their games.

A really fantastic book for grand parents and parents alike to buy for themselves to share with children or just to hoard for themselves, but every child deserves to be read to about Old Bear, his many friends, and adventures.

I don't give star ratings for books but if I did this would certainly be more than the 5 out of 5!

Publisher - Scribblers Books
Genre - Keepsake picture book, Children's