An utterly delightful tale of a book-loving bear exploring the world. The illustrations are beautiful and promote conversation with little ones. Thank you to Net Galley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

The world is big, and there's much to see...
So bear goes adventuring with her copy of Bear's Big Book of Being Wise and met new friends.
but, at last, I've found where I want to be!

The illustrations by Sophia O'Connor are delightful, imaginative, and vividly colorful.
Well suited for reading WITH someone of any age including ESL, and great for gifting to anyone, but especially to a school or your local public library!
I requested and received a free temporary e-book on Adobe Digital Editions from North Star Editions/Jolly Fish Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

My 7yo son and I loved this book! It was so sweet and a great adventure book. Kept his attention the whole time and had him smiling. That’s a win for me!

𝒯𝒽ℯ 𝓌ℴ𝓇𝓁𝒹 𝒾𝓈 𝒷𝒾𝑔, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝒽ℯ𝓇ℯ'𝓈 𝓂𝓊𝒸𝒽 𝓉ℴ 𝓈ℯℯ, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒶 𝒷ℯ𝒶𝓇 𝓂𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝑔ℴ 𝓌𝒽ℯ𝓇ℯ 𝓈𝒽ℯ 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉𝓈 𝓉ℴ 𝒷ℯ.

What a beautiful story… the prose and the illustrations were so serene and I found the book to be a great calming children’s read with a nice message - perfect for a bedtime book! My daughter was captivated and we loved the gentle rhyming and following on the bears adventures! It was particularly endearing that she brought a book along and how book-motivated the sweet bear was. ☺️

Thank you North Star Editions, NetGalley and Frances Tosdevin for the opportunity to read this beautiful story.

This is a super cute book!! My kiddos loved it and can't wait for me to read it again to them, it has become there favorite bedtime book!! I'll be gifting it for friend for their little ones.

A book about a bear who loves books. Isn't that cute?

Totally engaging and full of pretty illustrations with vivid and eye catching colors and animals, what else could you ask for?

I thoroughly enjoyed the book..

Thank you so much Netgalley and North Star editions for this pretty book, my review is totally mine and honest.

Thank you so much NetGalley for the opportunity to review The Bear and Her Book by Frances Tosdevin for my honest feedback. I found this to be an adorable and beautifully illustrated book. It is such a perfect way to introduce kids to the wonders of reading and helping others along their way. I loved the bear and her special prize: Her Bear’s Big Book of Being Wise. To those she encountered on her way, what a helper she was to them on that day. “The world is big and there’s much to see, and a bear must go where she wants to be.” No matter how she traveled, whether by land or sea, she found her special place to be, with more books to read.

The Bear always needs and wants more. She and her book are quite adventurous, while searching for more and more.
The Bear finds all kinds of solutions to problems in her book, which is amazing and very believable actually, thus she befriends lots of creatures during her search of more.
And then... as we all have realized one day, books can satisfy all searches. Suddenly everywhere and everything and everyone is within a hand reach when you have a library full of books.
I love children's books sooo much!
Great illustrations, great message!

I read this book to my first grader to get his honest review. He loved the rhyming parts and that the Bear made friends helping people wherever she went. He wished the pictures showed more of the lizards eye or the crabs claw and the snakes moving. At the end he understood the point the book was making and told me clear as day that she can travel anywhere she want when she reads books!

♥️ Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. My son and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

ARC provided by NetGalley & Jolly Fish Press.
Release Date: November 7, 2023


This was a really fun, wholesome read about a bear who travels and wants to see all the things. The rhymes were done really well and the illustrations were very beautiful. I especially loved when our bear main character finds themselves in the bookstore, passing the time away with book two of their favorite book, Bear's Big Book of Being Wise and now I wonder if there really is such a book out there. Overall, this was really cute and precious. A story I think many young kids will love and enjoy especially with such a strong theme of helping others.


All thoughts, feelings, experiences, and opinions are honest and my own.

A cute book about a bear who loves books. The bear travels around the world wide and learns books can help her make friends. A cute book about the power of loving books! I loved the illustrations too.

This book is great for children (of all ages!), and the illustrations inside the book are representative of a beautiful yearning. The book doesn't have many words, and it is written in rhyme. Very simplistic types of words used, but the overall theme of the book is very complex. I would say the lesson that this book teaches is one that many adults have even missed fairly often. To sum up the meaning of the lesson this book teaches I would simply say, "All I ever needed was right in front of me." The book shows this lesson by using pictures to explain that everyone should have a love for reading and not for galavanting off, chasing far-fetched ideas. The most important things you need to know are normally very close to you, and it's up to you to look in your surroundings for meaning in your life. You may not be able to solve the age old quandry, "What is the meaning of life?" but you CAN find out the meaning of YOUR life. That is a very important distinction. Hopefully, you will also see that this book encourages us to be grateful for the things we have and are given and not to need to go shopping all the time to fulfill our desires. All you need is shelter and food and clean running water, along with maybe heating and air conditioning and for your shelter to be clean. All of these things are available to you no matter who you are. If you search for these basic things instead of spending your hard earned money on little meaningless things like a new outfit or a manicure or going out to eat, you will find that you will be much happier just cooking at home and trying a new recipe. The great thing about cooking at home, is that you can literally cook anything in the world. You don't need anyone to give you a "menu" of what to choose from. You have a computer, or electronic device, search for a cool recipe (especially one that is literary in nature that goes along with a book or movie) and try it out. You can learn so many things from reading and that's also what this book illustrates. You can be a helping hand to others due to knowledge you acquired by reading books.

Bear is out to find where she is meant to be, out to discover more. She decides to go look for it, along with her one prized treasure her book Bears Big Book of Being Wise and sets off on her adventure. She travels far and wide meeting new friends along the way until she finally discovers the perfect place where she is meant to be. This is perfect for all those book loving families looking for a little adventure. The heartwarming tale along with beautiful illustrations takes us on a journey together to discover what is meant to be. Your family will adore this book, we sure did. Enjoy this adventure together.

This was a FANTASTIC adventure! This takes readers to so many different landscapes and shows how kindness is something we all share. This story is so sweet and so wonderful and reminds readers that adventure can take us anywhere; including where we’ve always wanted to be.

WHAT I COULD SAY?

The illustrations and texts were IMMACULATE! I was caught off-guard on the first page's illustration, it is so beautiful. And the texts accompaniment makes it better!

This story is about an inquisitive bear yearning to explore the world, looking for a place where she feels enough. For she thoughts that the world is a big place, and a bear must go where where it wants to be.

Apart from having immaculate illustrations, the writing styles are quite neat and witty, i love how the author makes the sentences raw, it makes the story more uplifting and fun. Man, I thought this might be an average read, but was I wrong? TOTALLY!

I highly recommend picking this book for a read aloud activities as it could appeal to toddlers interest, on top of motivating them to find what they crave in life (within toddler level of thinking).

5/5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley, the publishers, and Frances Tosdevin for allowing me to read and review this book.

This is such a cute children's book. It shows how helpful and informative books can be. It can help create friends and encourage traveling. But no matter how far or how much you travel, books will always be there for you. Books will also always be a home for you, no matter where you are.

This book is such a good story for encouraging children to read and to discover the love of reading.

A sweet picture book about finding adventure and making friends along the way. Rich and enchanting illustrations pair beautifully with lyrical rhymes.

“The world is big, and there’s much to see, and a bear must go where she wants to be.”

Books truly can take you anywhere. And this special book transported my daughter and me across jungle, desert, and sea. There really is no place, I’d rather be than by her side on this wild ride.

Thank you NetGalley and Jolly Fish Press for the eARC.

The Bear and Her Book is an adorable story about a bear who goes on a journey, always wanting to see, explore, and experience more. She has a book 'Bear's Book of Being Wise' that she takes with her, and she helps a few other animals along the way. She eventually stows away on a ship and when the ship lands, she finds a bookstore FULL OF BOOKS. Of course, when she finds all these books, she no longer feels the need to continue exploring. There is so much to explore and experience through books that she is finally happy!

What a wonderful way to show kids how books and stories can add so much joy to our lives! ❤️

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this advanced review copy (ARC) in exchange for my honest review on the book!

"The world is big, and there's much to see, and a bear must go where she wants to be." That seems like a pretty good philosophy for anyone, especially a reader. This particular bear has a book that she carries with her on her adventures, <i>Bear's Big Book of Being Wise</i>. Armed with the knowledge in her book she sets off to the sea, the jungle, the desert, even aboard a ship. At each new place she finds a creature in need and advice for how to help them in her handy book. Although she enjoys her new friends, something always pulls her onward looking for more. Perhaps her journey will take her to a place that has everything she needs.

Tosdevin's rhyming text carries readers gently along in Bear's wake as she sees far-off lands and makes new acquaintances. O'Connor's illustrations capture the starlight shimmering on the sea, the vibrant green of the jungle, and the golden yellow of desert sand. I was curious about how the images were created, so I looked up information on the book: "illustrations are hand-drawn using mixed media such as ink, gouache, oil pastels, and more" is what I found.

Taken together, as all picture books should be, the text and illustrations weave a delightful spell of curiosity, kindness, and the confidence to keep looking until you find the perfect place for yourself. A lovely read and sure to be a favorite at storytimes as little ones chime in with the repetitve phrase.

I read an advance copy provided by the publisher for review purposes.

"The Bear and Her Book," is a lovely story about a bear who yearns for more. We follow the bear on her travels in her attempt to find her place in the world. At each stop, she utilizes her book to help those she meets along the way. The illustrations as well as the lyrical poetry were perfect. Very reminiscent of Paddington the bear, except with a fondness for books rather than marmalade.