Review of "The Bear Who Wouldn’t Share," by Jonathan Allen

 Review of

The Bear Who Wouldn’t Share, by Jonathan Allen ISBN 0763567337

Five out of five stars

A lesson in sharing with friends

 It is Bear’s birthday and Granny Bear has baked a special cake for his birthday. She asks him to invite his friends for tea as she has made the cake for the express purpose of sharing. However, Bear does not want to share, his selfish nature makes him want to eat it all. In order to guarantee that he gets all the cake, he only invites the friends that cannot fit through the door. Bear then refuses to exit the house when they knock, he stays inside and eats until the cake is all gone. At the end, Bear suffers from the displeasure expressed by his friends.

 This book has flaps that can be moved like a door in response to knocking being expressed. This gives the young reader the opportunity to engage in some simple motor skills along with reading. The level is very early in the elementary school sequence, the act of holding and turning the pages of the oversize version could be challenging for some young readers. The book is ideal for one older person reading it to a group of young children, the large size means that the images can be seen for some distance. The lesson is also a very appropriate one for life at any age.