Friday, July 19, 2013

Hooligan Bear by Ian Toynton, Andrea Dietrich (Illustrator) - Review & Giveaway

I stumbled across a delightful children's friend one day when I was checking out Facebook. This new friend is Hooligan Bear and he has friend-bears of his own. He has his own Facebook page and his own Twitter. What a cool bear! What drew me, a grandmother of 13, to him is the beautiful illustrations that bring him to life and plant him squarely in your heart.  We all know stuffed bears and children have a strong affinity to each other. Well, welcome Hooligan Bear to the club.  You'll be glad he has joined.

His first episode or book adventure is Hooligan Bear: Home, and that is what we're going to look at today. Hooligan and his nephew, Louie, are going home to the bear factory. They enter into the factory only to find it deserted. No bears. No anything! This is home. What are they to do?  Hooligan being the loving, caring "elder bear" he is, assures his nephew Louie that they'll find a spot for home.

They find a shelf to live on and then go looking for a bed for Louie. The adventures begin. I found the adventure fun and laughable and sure to tickle the fancy of young children who are adventurers at heart. The tenderness of Hooligan for Louie is reflected in the words and actions of the bear as well as the soft, finely crafted illustrations that bring the character and feelings of the bears to life on the pages of Hooligan Bear: Home.

I highly recommend the book for home and libraries.
 
 GIVEAWAY:  I have 3 Hooligan Bear adventures. Giveaways will be spread out over the next few weeks. Each time I review one of the books, I'll host a giveaway for that book.  Today's  book is Hooligan Bear: Home and the kind author and illustrator are graciously providing a copy for one of Chat With Vera's readers. You and your kiddie are just going to enjoy this so much! So get moving and enter using the Rafflecopter form below. Begins July 19 & ENDS August 6 @ 12:01 a.m. EDT. Open to USA addresses only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Ways you can follow the adventures of Hooligan Bear:  http://storify.com/HooliganBears, http://www.facebook.com/hooliganbear, & Twitter @hooliganbears @hbhooliganbear @hblittlelouie

DISCLOSURE: I was provided a complimentary copy for the purpose of this review. No compensation was received by me for the review. The giveaway copy is also provided by them and will be shipped directly to the winner.

11 comments:

  1. I have one son eons older now who was inthe hosital and buddy bear was he friend in the hospital we stillhave that raggedy bear to this day and son is 34 years old now..

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  2. My husband gave me a teddy bear as a gift when we were dating. I sleep with it *every* night. My 2 1/2 year old son even knows that he's "mommy's bear" lol! :-)

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  3. I've always loved teddy bears, I'm a granny now but if I had my way I would still have teddy bears all over!

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  4. I had my "Henry" til I was 36yrs old. He was thrown out by my fiancé who thought it was childish. I am 43yrs old now & I still want to kill him. I loved Henry!

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  5. My daughter has a favorite teddy bear that she remembers getting from Santa. To this day she remembers waking up to her Teddy Bear next to her. She was so surprised and thrilled that Santa came up to see her!

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  6. We don't necessarily always use teddy bears as security stuffed friends in our family. Although we do have some bears (lots, in fact, among 14 grandchildren!) but each does have something that is special to them. As a child, I had a stuffed rabbit that became quite raggedy. Once a dog carried it off, right out of my hands! I was devastated; and then ever so happy when my parents ran after the dog & brought him back home to me.

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  7. I remember winning a Koala Bear at the local Japanese Obon Festival. Because I felt that I had earned the bear, he was important to me.

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  8. My father-in-law has 9 grandchildren, and for every single one, he has given them their first teddy bear at the hospital. He is a very quiet man, sort of gruff, and I just love that he is a big old teddy bear!

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  9. My son, who is now 19, had a teddy bear that he carried with him all the time. He slept with him until mid-grade school. I have his special teddy sitting in our spare bedroom. <3

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  10. I still have my first toy, a Winnie the Pooh teddy bear and it was my first gift to my daughter.

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  11. Thank you so much! I actually received 3 books in the series and they are all very nice for reading at bedtime. They are well illustrated and not too long and the Hooligan Bear book is exciting. Thanks again.

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