We're Going on a Bear Hunt

Rosen, Michael. We'Re Going on a Bear Hunt. New York: Macmillan Company, 1989.

As I began to read We’re Going on a Bear Hunt I took a step back into my childhood. Michael Rosen, author of this entertaining children’s book, used imperative literary elements to capture the hearts of young children around the world. Through Rosen’s words, and illustrations by Helen Oxenbury, the book—published in 1989—is still a big hit inside libraries, classrooms, and homes today. This adventurous and fictional book aims to emphasize the importance of a child’s imagination. The story is about a father and his children’s wild adventure in hopes to come face-to-face with a bear. Centering around various settings such as a grassy meadow, a river, dense mud, a dark forest, and a snowstorm, the family finally reaches the dark cave where the bear rests. The plan backfires, however, when the bear begins to chase them all the way home. Luckily, they end up safely in bed.

Overall I feel the pictures made the biggest impression for me. Switching between black and white charcoaled pictures, to a beautiful use of watercolors, Oxenbury demonstrated the use of both representational and impressionistic art. From the meadow to the cave, Oxenbury realistically depicts nature in its actual environment. Amongst this, she used beautiful and vibrant watercolors to highlight the lighting in each picture. From cover to cover, the textual and pictorial relationship remains symmetrical with one another. We’re Going on a Bear Hunt is a wonderful children’s book triggering the imagination of kids all around the world. As I finished reading the book it seemed as if no time had passed between my childhood and now.