Are you familiar the Hatley brand of children's clothes? I'm a huge fan of their brightly coloured designs and hadn't realised that Nicholas Oldland, the creative director and one of the owners, is also an author-illustrator. My kids and I recently discovered Big Bear Hug, the first book in Oldland's Life in the Wild series. This is the hilarious and heartwarming tale of a bear who loves nature, and what happens when he meets a lumberjack in the woods. Big Bear Hug gets a great laugh whenever we read it. In addition to being entertaining, it delivers a powerful message about protecting the environment and being kind to others (even trees). It's frequently requested by the six-year-old as well as the four-year-old, and is ideal for beginner readers to explore by themselves.
We were delighted when our lovely friends in Pikku Publishing sent us a copy of One Wild Christmas. In this tale, we meet Moose and Beaver (who feature in some of the earlier stories too). As the three pals prepare for a festive feast, they realise they have a problem: they've forgotten about the tree. Bear is strongly opposed to cutting one down, so what will they do?
Another amusing adventure with endearing characters, One Wild Christmas shows the importance of considering others. It demonstrates how even though we might have different views, we're stronger when we work together. We see how harmony can be reached with a little compromise and creative thinking.
My kids enjoy the dynamic between the animals and find their facial expressions priceless. They love to speculate about what the wrapped presents might contain. I'm a big fan of the insightful little bird, and Moose's 'Merry X-Moose' apron is genius! Funny and festive, One Wild Christmas is a delightful story to share with little readers in December.
One Wild Christmas was published on 28th October. Thanks so much to Pikku Publishing for kindly sharing this book with us - all opinions expressed are our own. We're celebrating the Life in the Wild series by Nicholas Oldland on our Instagram page for the next few days. Join us for ONE WILD WEEK to see more images from this book and the others in the collection.
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