We're Going on a Bear Hunt: Difference between revisions
Changing short description from "Children's picture book" to "1989 children's picture book" |
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{{Short description|1989 children's picture book}} |
{{Short description|1989 children's picture book}} |
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{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} |
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} |
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{{Use British English|date=December 2023}} |
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{{Infobox book |
{{Infobox book |
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| name = We're Going on a Bear Hunt |
| name = We're Going on a Bear Hunt |
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| language = English |
| language = English |
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| genre = [[Children's literature]] |
| genre = [[Children's literature]] |
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| publisher = |
| publisher = [[Walker Books]] (UK) |
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* [[Walker Books]] (UK) |
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* [[Simon & Schuster#Imprints|Margaret K. McElderry Books]] (US) |
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}} |
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| pub_date = 25 December 1989 |
| pub_date = 25 December 1989 |
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| media_type = Print ([[Hardcover]]) |
| media_type = Print ([[Hardcover]]) |
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| oclc = 18259147 |
| oclc = 18259147 |
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}} |
}} |
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'''''We're Going on a Bear Hunt''''' is a 1989 children's [[picture book]] written by [[Michael Rosen]] and illustrated by [[Helen Oxenbury]]. It has won numerous awards and was the subject of a ''[[Guinness World Records|Guinness World Record]]'' for "Largest Reading Lesson" with a book-reading attended by 1,500 children, and an additional 30,000 listeners online, in 2014. |
'''''We're Going on a Bear Hunt''''' is a British 1989 children's [[picture book]] written by [[Michael Rosen]] and illustrated by [[Helen Oxenbury]]. It has won numerous awards and was the subject of a ''[[Guinness World Records|Guinness World Record]]'' for "Largest Reading Lesson" with a book-reading attended by 1,500 children, and an additional 30,000 listeners online, in 2014. |
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==Plot and design== |
==Plot and design== |
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A family of five children (plus their dog), are going out to hunt a [[bear]]. They travel through [[Poaceae| |
A family of five children (plus their dog), are going out to hunt a [[bear]]. They travel through [[Poaceae|long wavy grass]], a [[river|deep cold river]], [[mud|thick oozy mud]], a [[forest|big dark forest]] and a [[Winter storm|swirling whirling snowstorm]] before coming face to face with a bear in a [[cave|narrow gloomy cave]]. This meeting causes panic and the children start running back home, across all the obstacles, chased by the bear. Finally, the children return to their home and lock the bear out of their house. The bear retreats, leaving the children safe. The children hide under a duvet and say: "We're not going on a bear hunt again!". At the end of the book, the bear is pictured trudging disconsolately on a beach at night, the same beach that is shown on a sunny day as the [[Book frontispiece|frontispiece]]. Most of the illustrations were painted in [[Watercolor painting|watercolour]].<ref name="Channel 4 interview"/> However, the six pictures of the family facing each new hazard are black and white drawings. |
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At each obstacle is |
At each obstacle is a [[Onomatopoeia|onomatopoeic]] description. Before each obstacle the children chant the refrain: |
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{{blockquote|<poem>We're going on a bear hunt. |
{{blockquote|<poem>We're going on a bear hunt. |
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We've got to go through it!</poem>}} |
We've got to go through it!</poem>}} |
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At the end of the bear hunt, they (now safe from the bear at home), conclude with this line: |
At the end of the bear hunt, they (now safe from the bear at home), conclude with this line: |
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{{blockquote|<poem>'''We're not going on a bear hunt again.'''</poem>}} |
{{blockquote|<poem>'''We're not going on a bear hunt again.'''</poem>}} |
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==Characters and |
==Characters and locations== |
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*The eldest of the children (called Stanley |
*The eldest of the children (called Stanley "Stan" in the television adaptation) is sometimes mistaken by readers as being their father but is in fact the oldest brother and sibling. They are based on Oxenbury's own children. Likewise, the dog is modelled on an actual family pet.<ref name="How it was made">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/nov/05/how-we-made-bear-hunt|title=How we made: Helen Oxenbury and Michael Rosen on We're Going on a Bear Hunt|last=Tims|first=Anna|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=5 November 2012|accessdate=3 January 2017}}</ref> |
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*In the television adaptation, though not in the book, the mother, father, and grandmother of the family make an appearance. Also, the four older children (unnamed in the book) are identified as Stanley, Katie, Rosie, and Max. The baby sister remains nameless. The dog (also anonymous in the book) is called Rufus. |
*In the television adaptation, though not in the book, the mother, father, and grandmother of the family make an appearance. Also, the four older children (unnamed in the book) are identified as Stanley, Katie, Rosie, and Max. The baby sister (youngest of which) remains nameless. The dog (also anonymous in the book) is called Rufus. |
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**Stanley is the eldest child, Katie is the second oldest, |
**Stanley is the eldest child, Katie is the second oldest, Max is the middle child, Rosie is the second youngest, and the baby sister (unnamed in both the book and TV adaptation) is the youngest. |
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*Each of the obstacles, apart from the river, is based on a real life location in England and Wales that Oxenbury knew.<ref name="Channel 4 interview">{{cite web|url=http://www.channel4.com/info/press/news/interview-with-helen-oxenbury-for-were-goin-on-a-bear-hunt|title=Interview with Helen Oxenbury for We're Going on a Bear Hunt|publisher=[[Channel 4]]|date=16 November 2016|accessdate=14 January 2017}}</ref> |
*Each of the obstacles, apart from the river, is based on a real life location in England and Wales that Oxenbury knew.<ref name="Channel 4 interview">{{cite web|url=http://www.channel4.com/info/press/news/interview-with-helen-oxenbury-for-were-goin-on-a-bear-hunt|title=Interview with Helen Oxenbury for We're Going on a Bear Hunt|publisher=[[Channel 4]]|date=16 November 2016|accessdate=14 January 2017}}</ref> |
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*Unlike the book, where the bear is mean and hostile, in the TV adaptation it is friendly and lonely, and merely chases the children only because of Rosie being friendly to it and wanting more attention. |
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==History== |
==History== |
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The story was adapted from an American folk song |
The story was adapted from an American folk song; Rosen, who heard the song, incorporated it in his poetry shows and subsequently wrote the book based upon it.<ref name="How it was made"/> Since publication, the book has never been out of print and each year has been in the 5,000 best selling books.<ref name="Guinness World Records"/> The publisher has stated that the book has attained worldwide sales of more than 9 million copies.<ref name="applaunch">{{cite web|url=http://www.thebookseller.com/news/walker-and-partners-launch-bear-hunt-app-446016|title=Walker and partners launch Bear Hunt app|last= Eyre|first=Charlotte|work=[[The Bookseller]]|date=7 December 2016|accessdate=14 January 2017}}</ref> |
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==Awards== |
==Awards== |
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The book won the overall [[Nestlé Smarties Book Prize]] in 1989 and also won the 0–5 years category.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/video/2014/apr/10/we-re-going-on-a-bear-hunt-michael-rosen-helen-oxenbury-video|title=We're Going on a Bear Hunt: 'The editors were so excited they were nearly weeping' – video|last=Sprenger|first=Richard|date=10 April 2014|work=[[The Guardian]]|accessdate=25 December 2016}}</ref> In 1989 it was an 'Honor Book' in the [[Boston Globe–Horn Book Award]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hbook.com/2011/05/news/boston-globe-horn-book-awards/past-boston-globe-horn-book-award-winners/|title=Past Boston Globe–Horn Book Award Winners|work=[[The Horn Book Magazine]]|date=30 May 2011|accessdate=2 January 2017}}</ref> The book also won the '[[School Library Journal]] Best Book of the Year' and the '[[Mainichi Shimbun|Mainichi Newspapers]] Japanese Picture Book Award, Outstanding Picture Book from Abroad' award.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poets/detail/michael-rosen|title=Michael Rosen|publisher=[[Poetry Foundation]]|accessdate=5 January 2017}}</ref> It was highly commended for the 1989 [[Kate Greenaway Medal]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.walkerbooks.com.au/Books/Were-Going-on-a-Bear-Hunt-9781406365634|title=We're Going on a Bear Hunt|publisher=Walker Books Australia|accessdate=14 January 2017}}</ref> |
The book won the overall [[Nestlé Smarties Book Prize]] in 1989 and also won the 0–5 years category.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/video/2014/apr/10/we-re-going-on-a-bear-hunt-michael-rosen-helen-oxenbury-video|title=We're Going on a Bear Hunt: 'The editors were so excited they were nearly weeping' – video|last=Sprenger|first=Richard|date=10 April 2014|work=[[The Guardian]]|accessdate=25 December 2016}}</ref> In 1989 it was an 'Honor Book' in the [[Boston Globe–Horn Book Award]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hbook.com/2011/05/news/boston-globe-horn-book-awards/past-boston-globe-horn-book-award-winners/|title=Past Boston Globe–Horn Book Award Winners|work=[[The Horn Book Magazine]]|date=30 May 2011|accessdate=2 January 2017}}</ref> The book also won the '[[School Library Journal]] Best Book of the Year' and the '[[Mainichi Shimbun|Mainichi Newspapers]] Japanese Picture Book Award, Outstanding Picture Book from Abroad' award.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poets/detail/michael-rosen|title=Michael Rosen|publisher=[[Poetry Foundation]]|accessdate=5 January 2017}}</ref> It was highly commended for the 1989 [[Kate Greenaway Medal]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.walkerbooks.com.au/Books/Were-Going-on-a-Bear-Hunt-9781406365634|title=We're Going on a Bear Hunt|publisher=Walker Books Australia|accessdate=14 January 2017}}</ref> |
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The publisher, [[Walker Books]], celebrated the work's 25th anniversary in 2014 by breaking a ''[[Guinness World Records|Guinness World Record]]'' for the "Largest Reading Lesson", with a book-reading by author Rosen that was attended by 1,500 children, with an additional 30,000 online.<ref name="Guinness World Records">{{cite web|url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/business-solutions/case-studies/walker-books| |
The publisher, [[Walker Books]], celebrated the work's 25th anniversary in 2014 by breaking a ''[[Guinness World Records|Guinness World Record]]'' for the "Largest Reading Lesson", with a book-reading by author Rosen that was attended by 1,500 children, with an additional 30,000 online.<ref name="Guinness World Records">{{cite web |title=Walker Books & The RNIB |url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/business-solutions/case-studies/walker-books |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240512055540/https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/business-solutions/case-studies/walker-books |archive-date=12 May 2024 |accessdate=25 December 2016 |publisher=[[Guinness World Records]]}}</ref> |
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==Adaptations== |
==Adaptations== |
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===Theatre adaptation=== |
===Theatre adaptation=== |
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The book has been adapted as a stage play by director Sally Cookson with musical score by Benji Bower and design by Katie Sykes. The play has run in the [[West End theatre|West End]] and in provincial theatres. The ending of the performance has been changed so that there is a reconciliation between the family and the bear.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/london-shows/show/item104419/were-going-on-a-bear-hunt/|title=WE'RE GOING ON A BEAR HUNT|publisher=www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk|accessdate=25 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spectator.co.uk/2013/07/bear-hunting-on-shaftesbury-avenue-michael-rosen-sally-cookson/|title=Bear hunting on Shaftesbury Avenue|last=Vickery|first=Lucy|work=[[The Spectator]]|date=20 July 2013|accessdate=25 January 2017}}</ref> ''[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]'' magazine, who awarded four stars out of five, whilst describing the performers as "wonderfully entertaining" also said "those in the later primary years might find it a little boring – not an awful lot happens, after all."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.timeout.com/london/theatre/were-going-on-a-bear-hunt-5|title=We're Going on a Bear Hunt|work=[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]|last=Bowie-Sell|first=Daisy|date=10 July 2013|accessdate=25 January 2017}}</ref> |
The book has been adapted as a stage play by director [[Sally Cookson]] with musical score by Benji Bower and design by Katie Sykes. The play has run in the [[West End theatre|West End]] and in provincial theatres. The ending of the performance has been changed so that there is a reconciliation between the family and the bear.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/london-shows/show/item104419/were-going-on-a-bear-hunt/|title=WE'RE GOING ON A BEAR HUNT|publisher=www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk|accessdate=25 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spectator.co.uk/2013/07/bear-hunting-on-shaftesbury-avenue-michael-rosen-sally-cookson/|title=Bear hunting on Shaftesbury Avenue|last=Vickery|first=Lucy|work=[[The Spectator]]|date=20 July 2013|accessdate=25 January 2017}}</ref> ''[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]'' magazine, who awarded four stars out of five, whilst describing the performers as "wonderfully entertaining" also said "those in the later primary years might find it a little boring – not an awful lot happens, after all."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.timeout.com/london/theatre/were-going-on-a-bear-hunt-5|title=We're Going on a Bear Hunt|work=[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]|last=Bowie-Sell|first=Daisy|date=10 July 2013|accessdate=25 January 2017}}</ref> |
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===Television adaptation=== |
===Television adaptation=== |
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[[Channel 4]] first aired a half hour animated television adaptation on 24 December 2016 at 7:30 pm. It featured the voices of [[Olivia Colman]], [[Mark Williams (actor)|Mark Williams]], and [[Michael Rosen]] |
[[Channel 4]] first aired a half hour animated television adaptation on 24 December 2016 at 7:30 pm. It featured the voices of [[Olivia Colman]], [[Mark Williams (actor)|Mark Williams]], [[Pam Ferris]] and [[Michael Rosen]],<ref name="Guardian review"/> and added much dialogue and other elements, including a scene of Rosie being friendly with the bear before the others pull her away. ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', giving the programme three stars out of five, commented that "The whole thing was skilfully made, but ... did it need to take such a carefree story and cast a pall of gloom?".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2016/12/24/going-bear-hunt-casting-pall-gloom-classic-childrens-story-review/|title=We're Going on a Bear Hunt: casting a pall of gloom on a classic children's story, review|last=Auld|first=Tim|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=24 December 2016|accessdate=30 December 2016}}</ref> However, ''[[The Guardian]]'' said that adaptation was "sumptuous", "prestigious" but that "The animation adds a dose of festive sadness."<ref name="Guardian review">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/19/were-going-on-a-bear-hunt-michael-rosen-channel-4-christmas-animation|title=Move over, Snowman! Let's have a cuddly Christmas with Bear Hunt instead|last=Heritage|first=Stuart|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=19 December 2016|accessdate=31 December 2016}}</ref> It was released on [[DVD]] by [[Universal Pictures Home Entertainment]] on 14 June 2017. |
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===Mobile app=== |
===Mobile app=== |
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===Cultural impact=== |
===Cultural impact=== |
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In 2013, the novelists Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees wrote a |
In 2013, the novelists Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees wrote a parody of the book, called ''We're Going On A Bar Hunt'', which was illustrated by Gillian Johnson in the style of the original and was published by Constable books and then republished by Little, Brown & Company.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Crace |first1=John |title='We're going on a bar hunt … we're not old!' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/oct/17/were-going-on-a-bar-hunt-bear-michael-rosen-childrens-book |website=The Guardian |date=17 October 2013}}</ref> |
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===="Bear hunts"==== |
===="Bear hunts"==== |
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During the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], "bear hunts" became popular with houses across the United States,<ref name="tampa-bay-skw">{{cite web |last1=Wynne |first1=Sharon Kennedy |title=Bored kids are going on a bear hunt and it's adorable |url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2020/03/28/bored-kids-are-going-on-a-bear-hunt-and-its-adorable/ |publisher=Tampa Bay Times |accessdate=29 March 2020 |date=March 28, 2020}}</ref> Belgium,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https:// |
During the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], "bear hunts" became popular with houses across the United States,<ref name="tampa-bay-skw">{{cite web |last1=Wynne |first1=Sharon Kennedy |title=Bored kids are going on a bear hunt and it's adorable |url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2020/03/28/bored-kids-are-going-on-a-bear-hunt-and-its-adorable/ |publisher=Tampa Bay Times |accessdate=29 March 2020 |date=March 28, 2020}}</ref> Belgium,<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2020-03-26 |title=De Vlaming gaat massaal op ‘berenjacht’ tijdens een blokje om |url=https://www.demorgen.be/nieuws/de-vlaming-gaat-massaal-op-berenjacht-tijdens-een-blokje-om~bb1ab2964/ |access-date=2024-03-04 |work=[[De Morgen]] |language=nl}}</ref> Netherlands,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hartvannederland.nl/nieuws/2020/berenjacht-voor-kinderen-populair-in-nederland/|title='Berenjacht' voor kinderen, door coronacrisis, populair in Nederland|website=Hart van Nederland|accessdate=Aug 2, 2020}}</ref> and Australia<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2020-03-25|title=Socially distanced neighbourhood bear hunts are taking off around the world|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-25/coronavirus-bear-hunts-around-the-world-including-melbourne/12085168|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-01-31|website=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]|language=en-AU}}</ref> placing stuffed bears in windows, in front yards, or on mailboxes for children to look for and find during walks or drives.<ref name="leonard-virus-nyt">{{cite web |last1=Leonard |first1=Robert |title=The Coronavirus Is Upending Life in Rural America, Too |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/29/opinion/coronavirus-iowa.html |work=The New York Times |accessdate=29 March 2020 |date=March 29, 2020}}</ref><ref name="keeler-post">{{cite web |last1=Keeler |first1=Sean |title=Coronavirus teddy bear hunts make social distancing fun — yes, fun — for Front Range families |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2020/03/29/coronavirus-teddy-bear-hunts/ |publisher=Denver Post |accessdate=29 March 2020 |date=March 29, 2020}}</ref><ref name="bear-hunts-fox-carolina">{{cite web |title="Bear hunts" get kids outdoors while still distancing |url=https://www.foxcarolina.com/bear-hunts-get-kids-outdoors-while-still-distancing/video_817b6117-ffbf-56ee-8975-87628c6755f1.html |publisher=Fox Carolina |accessdate=29 March 2020 |date=March 28, 2020}}</ref> |
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== Parody == |
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A book was inspired for an adults joke book "We're Going on a Bar Hunt", by Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees and illustrated by Gillian Johnson. In this parody, it tells the story of two parents who book a baby sitter to look after their children while they meet up with two friends and set off for a night on the tiles. They travel through an offie (Trendy new offie), a pub (Groovy gastro pub), a cocktail bar (Funky cocktail bar) and a club (Really rocking club). The two parents and their friends get drunk until they come face to face with a bear (man in a suit). This causes the gang to flee with the bear following and chasing after them all the way back through the obstacles where they all come from. Finally the two friends carry on running away and the parents get to their children, quickly act sober and pay the baby sitter until the bear comes. They shut the door and crash on the sofa and the children jump up from behind at 6 a.m. until their parents sit up and say "We're not going on a bar hunt again!" Like in the book We're Going on a Bear Hunt, the bear is pictured trotting away down the streets. |
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==References== |
==References== |
Latest revision as of 12:43, 20 December 2024
Author | Michael Rosen |
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Illustrator | Helen Oxenbury |
Language | English |
Genre | Children's literature |
Publisher | Walker Books (UK) |
Publication date | 25 December 1989 |
Publication place | United Kingdom |
Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
ISBN | 0689504764 |
OCLC | 18259147 |
We're Going on a Bear Hunt is a British 1989 children's picture book written by Michael Rosen and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury. It has won numerous awards and was the subject of a Guinness World Record for "Largest Reading Lesson" with a book-reading attended by 1,500 children, and an additional 30,000 listeners online, in 2014.
Plot and design
[edit]A family of five children (plus their dog), are going out to hunt a bear. They travel through long wavy grass, a deep cold river, thick oozy mud, a big dark forest and a swirling whirling snowstorm before coming face to face with a bear in a narrow gloomy cave. This meeting causes panic and the children start running back home, across all the obstacles, chased by the bear. Finally, the children return to their home and lock the bear out of their house. The bear retreats, leaving the children safe. The children hide under a duvet and say: "We're not going on a bear hunt again!". At the end of the book, the bear is pictured trudging disconsolately on a beach at night, the same beach that is shown on a sunny day as the frontispiece. Most of the illustrations were painted in watercolour.[1] However, the six pictures of the family facing each new hazard are black and white drawings.
At each obstacle is a onomatopoeic description. Before each obstacle the children chant the refrain:
We're going on a bear hunt.
We're going to catch a big one.
What a beautiful day!
We're not scared.
followed by (while crossing the obstacles):
We can't go over it.
We can't go under it.
Oh no!
We've got to go through it!
At the end of the bear hunt, they (now safe from the bear at home), conclude with this line:
We're not going on a bear hunt again.
Characters and locations
[edit]- The eldest of the children (called Stanley "Stan" in the television adaptation) is sometimes mistaken by readers as being their father but is in fact the oldest brother and sibling. They are based on Oxenbury's own children. Likewise, the dog is modelled on an actual family pet.[2]
- In the television adaptation, though not in the book, the mother, father, and grandmother of the family make an appearance. Also, the four older children (unnamed in the book) are identified as Stanley, Katie, Rosie, and Max. The baby sister (youngest of which) remains nameless. The dog (also anonymous in the book) is called Rufus.
- Stanley is the eldest child, Katie is the second oldest, Max is the middle child, Rosie is the second youngest, and the baby sister (unnamed in both the book and TV adaptation) is the youngest.
- Each of the obstacles, apart from the river, is based on a real life location in England and Wales that Oxenbury knew.[1]
- Unlike the book, where the bear is mean and hostile, in the TV adaptation it is friendly and lonely, and merely chases the children only because of Rosie being friendly to it and wanting more attention.
History
[edit]The story was adapted from an American folk song; Rosen, who heard the song, incorporated it in his poetry shows and subsequently wrote the book based upon it.[2] Since publication, the book has never been out of print and each year has been in the 5,000 best selling books.[3] The publisher has stated that the book has attained worldwide sales of more than 9 million copies.[4]
Awards
[edit]The book won the overall Nestlé Smarties Book Prize in 1989 and also won the 0–5 years category.[5] In 1989 it was an 'Honor Book' in the Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards.[6] The book also won the 'School Library Journal Best Book of the Year' and the 'Mainichi Newspapers Japanese Picture Book Award, Outstanding Picture Book from Abroad' award.[7] It was highly commended for the 1989 Kate Greenaway Medal.[8]
The publisher, Walker Books, celebrated the work's 25th anniversary in 2014 by breaking a Guinness World Record for the "Largest Reading Lesson", with a book-reading by author Rosen that was attended by 1,500 children, with an additional 30,000 online.[3]
Adaptations
[edit]Theatre adaptation
[edit]The book has been adapted as a stage play by director Sally Cookson with musical score by Benji Bower and design by Katie Sykes. The play has run in the West End and in provincial theatres. The ending of the performance has been changed so that there is a reconciliation between the family and the bear.[9][10] Time Out magazine, who awarded four stars out of five, whilst describing the performers as "wonderfully entertaining" also said "those in the later primary years might find it a little boring – not an awful lot happens, after all."[11]
Television adaptation
[edit]Channel 4 first aired a half hour animated television adaptation on 24 December 2016 at 7:30 pm. It featured the voices of Olivia Colman, Mark Williams, Pam Ferris and Michael Rosen,[12] and added much dialogue and other elements, including a scene of Rosie being friendly with the bear before the others pull her away. The Daily Telegraph, giving the programme three stars out of five, commented that "The whole thing was skilfully made, but ... did it need to take such a carefree story and cast a pall of gloom?".[13] However, The Guardian said that adaptation was "sumptuous", "prestigious" but that "The animation adds a dose of festive sadness."[12] It was released on DVD by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment on 14 June 2017.
Mobile app
[edit]A mobile app, based on the book, was launched in December 2016. It is available on Amazon, Android, and Apple platforms.[4]
Cultural impact
[edit]In 2013, the novelists Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees wrote a parody of the book, called We're Going On A Bar Hunt, which was illustrated by Gillian Johnson in the style of the original and was published by Constable books and then republished by Little, Brown & Company.[14]
"Bear hunts"
[edit]During the COVID-19 pandemic, "bear hunts" became popular with houses across the United States,[15] Belgium,[16] Netherlands,[17] and Australia[18] placing stuffed bears in windows, in front yards, or on mailboxes for children to look for and find during walks or drives.[19][20][21]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Interview with Helen Oxenbury for We're Going on a Bear Hunt". Channel 4. 16 November 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
- ^ a b Tims, Anna (5 November 2012). "How we made: Helen Oxenbury and Michael Rosen on We're Going on a Bear Hunt". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
- ^ a b "Walker Books & The RNIB". Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on 12 May 2024. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
- ^ a b Eyre, Charlotte (7 December 2016). "Walker and partners launch Bear Hunt app". The Bookseller. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
- ^ Sprenger, Richard (10 April 2014). "We're Going on a Bear Hunt: 'The editors were so excited they were nearly weeping' – video". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
- ^ "Past Boston Globe–Horn Book Award Winners". The Horn Book Magazine. 30 May 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
- ^ "Michael Rosen". Poetry Foundation. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
- ^ "We're Going on a Bear Hunt". Walker Books Australia. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
- ^ "WE'RE GOING ON A BEAR HUNT". www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
- ^ Vickery, Lucy (20 July 2013). "Bear hunting on Shaftesbury Avenue". The Spectator. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
- ^ Bowie-Sell, Daisy (10 July 2013). "We're Going on a Bear Hunt". Time Out. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
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