No Bears

Meg McKinley (author)

Leila Rudge (illustrator)

Walker Books, Australia: June 2011

ISBN: 9781921529924

Genres: humour, picture book

Issues: imagination

Ruby is in charge of the writing of this book and her decision is that there be no bears in it. Not even a small one. There's plenty of action, even heroism, but definitely no bears, according to Ruby.

The reader knows better and will have a lovely time chuckling over the shared secret with the illustrator as a beary clever godmother ensures that Ruby comes through all of her adventures safe and sound.

Leila Rudge's illustrations carry the reader into a secondary narrative that occurs beyond the page, where characters live independently of the main story. The interdependence of text and image make No Bears a picture book of the best kind. There is so much room for reader involvement here: discussion of the secondary narrative about the nature of storytelling (and therefore writing), about the role of the illustrator, about the importance of imagination when reading (and writing)... Children of all ages (4-104) will find this a delightful whimsical, funny, clever and thought-provoking book.

Every school should have a copy, if only to remind young readers that often the story takes on a life of its own and successful writing is about hanging on tight and enjoying the ride.

Same Author: Duck For A Day; The Truth About Penguins