We’re busy learners at Wellington College Bilingual Shanghai this week, as our theme on ‘A World of Colours and Shapes’ takes off. We are reading the story of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin and Eric Carle. Eric Carle is a wonderful illustrator and author of the Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Mixed-Up Chameleon, amongst others.
The story of the creation of this books reads as such;
On a train ride in 1966, the title phrase Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? popped into Bill Martin Jr.'s head. Later, he spotted an illustration of a red lobster in a magazine and contacted the creator, Eric Carle, to ask if he would illustrate his poem. So began Eric Carle's career as a children's book illustrator--along with a life-long collaborative friendship with Bill Martin Jr. Since then, Brown Bear and the three companion titles, Polar Bear, Panda Bear, and Baby Bear, have gone on to sell millions of copies worldwide.
The Bear books are a cultural landmark and a key milestone in many children's reading lives. And many adults today remember reading the Bear books themselves as well as the experience of reading them for the first time to their own children. Whether in a picture book or a reader, and now in eBook and audio, the same bold graphics and repetitive, rhythmic text have truly stood the test of time. (Laura Godwin, Vice President and Publisher, Henry Holt Books for Young Readers)
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? is available in bilingual print and is a wonderful opportunity to spend time together with your child reading and exploring the world of colours around you. The last question asks, “Children, Children, What do you see?” What a great starting point to see the world through the eyes of your child and for a conversation that may lead to who knows where…………. Happy reading and learning!
