Young children will very much enjoy Bear’s adventure. It begins on a beach where Bear is enjoying a day out, gazing at the sea from a sandcastle. But the children forget to take him home, the tide rises and washes him out to sea where he sinks to the bottom. Caught up in the fishermen’s nets he’s saved only to be snatched up by a seagull and carried high above the city of Edinburgh before he’s dropped back onto the beach and reunited with the children. It’s an exciting but ultimately reassuring story and children will love poring over Benedict Blathwayt’s wonderfully detailed pictures and spotting hidden treasures – a mermaid’s purse on the beach, a cat on the quayside, fish and molluscs hiding amongst the weed on the seabed. ~ Andrea Reece
Bear is a part of the family. He goes everywhere with his young companions. Then one day, somehow, Bear is left behind at the seaside. As the sun goes down, the tide comes in, and Bear begins his great adventure. Benedict Blathwayt tells the story of a bear who has been loved over the decades with the aid of his beautifully vibrant and exciting new illustrations. Bear’s Adventures is one of three new editions by Blathwayt including Tig and Tag and Little House by the Sea, both of which were published to great acclaim.
You can look at his illustrations for hours and still spot something new. There’s always lots to talk about’ – Mumsnet review
Author
About Benedict Blathwayt
Benedict Blathwayt started as a painter working from his own studio at the age of seventeen, and held a number of successful exhibitions. Since then he has worked in the Hebrides as a dairyman (which accounts for his wonderful character, Bramble the cow and for the Scottish scenery in Little House by the Sea) and in Wales as a wildlife artist for Nature Conservancy. Now living on Exmoor, he has published over thirty children's books, the very successful Bramble books selling over a million copies in Sainsburys in the l990s. He was short-listed for the Smarties Book Award, (middle category) with Tangle and the Firesticks. He builds his picture book stories round farm animal heroes, Kip the sheep dog, Tig and Tag, the sheep, Bella the goose, Pebble the pony. He has also created board books featuring a tractor, a rally car, an aeroplane, a big truck and a ferry. More recently Hutchinson have published Ben`s Big Book of Cars which is proving immensely popular. Ben is planning more in this series.
His most successful and best known books tell of the adventures of the Little Red Train. There are now five picture story books as well as board books about the train which, driven by Duffy Driver,has a great many fans amongst young readers. Children love the narrative detail in his pictures.
Married to an artist, Ben Blathwayt lives in Somerset on the edge of Exmoor and has two sons.