Ginger Bear

Mini Grey's Ginger Bear is a funny picture book for 5 year olds about a gingerbread bear who has no intention of being eaten.

What happens

It starts with Horace and a lump of pastry. Usually he rolls it round the floor until it's grey and fluffy (and quite a lot smaller). But today Mum gives him a bear-shaped cutter. Horace stamps out a bear, gives him currant eyes, and Mum pops him in the oven.

Now Horace would very much like to eat him. But first he's too hot. Then it's nearly dinner. Then Horace has already cleaned his teeth. "No, Horace." Every time! Any child who's been told to wait for a treat will feel Horace's pain.

So Horace tucks the bear in a little tin on his pillow. And in the middle of the night, Ginger Bear wakes up.

He's lonely, so he does the obvious thing. He goes down to the kitchen and bakes himself some friends. Then he decorates them with icing, sprinkles, glacé cherries and little silver balls. Who wouldn't want friends like that?

What happens next is the best bit. Ginger Bear's Circus opens in the kitchen, one night only! There are acrobats, a strongbear lifting the rolling pin, and an aeronaut fired out of the ketchup bottle.

The circus is so exciting that nobody notices Bongo the dog in the doorway. Bongo likes cookies. (Mini Grey points out it's not in a way that's good for the cookies.)

Ginger Bear only just escapes. Looking at the mess, he realises a cookie needs somewhere safe to live. Where do you hide if you're a biscuit everyone wants to eat? The answer is a very clever one, and I'll leave you to find it.

The words are short and snappy, with a lovely dry humour that grown-ups will enjoy reading aloud as much as children enjoy hearing it. A lot of the story lives in the pictures too, so it's one to pore over together.

If your reader has ever wondered what goes on in the kitchen while everyone's asleep, they'll love this.

What to read next

Loved the midnight mischief? Try Anthony Browne's Gorilla. Hannah's toy gorilla comes to life in the middle of the night too. He borrows her dad's hat and coat and swings her off to the zoo.