This past fall (2025), National Public Radio celebrated the 35th Anniversary of Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury’s picture book “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt”. My own 35 year old copy is well-worn, so I bought one of the anniversary copies to read to Sloane and David.
The picture book was very well-received!
SUMMARY:
The story of We’re Going on a Bear Hunt is based on a camp song, a call and response musical dialogue between the reader and a chorus.
The leader sings each line (the call) which is then repeated by the chorus (the response) in a chant:
LEADER: We’re going on a bear hunt!
CHORUS: We’re going on a bear hunt!
LEADER: We’re gonna catch a big one!
CHORUS: We’re gonna catch a big one!
TOGETHER: What a beautiful day!
We’re not scared….
Now, in addition to the song, there are hand motions:
LEADER: Oh no!
Grass! Tall, wavy grass! (wave hands)
TOGETHER: Can’t go over it!
Can’t go under it!
Gotta go through it!
Swishy swashy, swishy swashy, swishy swashy, swishy swashy
(hand motions separate imaginary high grass)
The bear hunt goes through the mud (squishy-squish), a river (splish-splash), and a forest (stumble-trip) until the participants enter a deep-dark cave with (you guessed it!) A BEAR!
AUDIENCE:
Children ages two (2) years and older LOVE participating in reading a book and singing verses that include hand gestures. Older children, and most adults, may already be familiar with this bear hunt song.
AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR:
Michael Rosen (79) and Helen Oxenbury (89) are neighbors and during the NPR interview, they discussed how they combined their different ideas in creating the original picture book. Rosen had thought the story should be “a bit like Carnival” whereas the soft-spoken Oxenbury saw the story as a family adventure of older and younger siblings.
Their collaboration 35 years ago reflects Oxenbury’s watercolor artistry across different landscapes because, as she noted, “it’s a very English way of painting.”
Rosen and Oxenbury released their latest collaboration “Oh Dear, Look What I Got”-a storytime comedy of misunderstandings- in September 2025. This picture book has also received high praise, “from a team whose talents haven’t aged a day.” (Kirkus Reviews)
OTHER:
Sloane was an enthusiastic participant in the bear hunt from the start. She quickly understood how to respond and when to use hand motions. But she also was very solemn in her advice after reading, “Grandma, we should not try to wake up a real bear, OK?”
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