We're Going on a Bear Hunt is a 1989 children's picture book written by Michael Rosen and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury. It has won numerous awards and was the subject of a Guinness World Record for "Largest Reading Lesson" with a book-reading attended by 1,500 children, and an additional 30,000 listeners online, in 2014. Five children and their dog go out to hunt a bear. They travel through grass, a river, mud, a forest and a snowstorm before coming face to face with a bear in its cave. This meeting causes panic and the family run home, across all the obstacles, followed by the bear. Finally, the children lock the bear out of the house and all hide under the duvet saying "We're not going on a bear hunt again." At the end of the book, the bear is pictured trudging disconsolately on a beach at night, the same beach that is shown on a sunny day as the frontispiece. Most of the illustrations were painted in watercolour.[2] However, the six pictures of the children facing a new hazard are black and white drawings.
At each obstacle is an onomatopoeic description. Before each obstacle the children chant the refrain:
We're going on a bear hunt.
We're going to catch a big one.
What a beautiful day!
We're not scared.
followed by:
We can't go over it.
We can't go under it.
Oh no!
We've got to go through it!
“Chu-chum-chum-chum-chum. Chu-chum-chum-chum-chum.
We're going on a bear hunt.
We’re going to catch a big one.
What a beautiful day!
We’re not scared.
Uh-uh! Grass!
Long wavy grass.
We can't go over it.
We can't go under it.
Oh no!
We’ve got to go through it!
Swishy Swashy!
Swishy Swashy!
Swishy Swashy!
Chu-chum-chum-chum-chum. Chu-chum-chum-chum-chum.
We're going on a bear hunt.
We’re going to catch a big one.
What a beautiful day!
We're not scared.
Uh-uh! A river!
A deep cold river.
We can't go over it.
We can't go under it.
Oh no!
We’ve got to go through it!
Dive in!
Splash splosh!
Splash splosh!
Splash splosh!
Chu-chum-chum-chum-chum. Chu-chum-chum-chum-chum.
We're going on a bear hunt.
We’re going to catch a big one.
What a beautiful day!
We’re not scared.
Uh-uh! Mud!
Thick oozy mud.
We can't go over it.
We can't go under it.
Oh no!
We’ve got to go through it!
Squelch squelch!
Squelch squelch!
Squelch squelch!
Chu-chum-chum-chum-chum. Chu-chum-chum-chum-chum.
We're going on a bear hunt.
We’re going to catch a big one.
What a beautiful day!
We’re not scared.
Uh-uh! A forest!
A big dark forest.
We can't go over it.
We can't go under it.
Oh no!
We’ve got to go through it!
Stumble trip!
Stumble trip!
Stumble trip!
Chu-chum-chum-chum-chum. Chu-chum-chum-chum-chum.
We're going on a bear hunt.
We’re going to catch a big one.
What a beautiful day!
We’re not scared.
Uh-uh! A snowstorm!
A swirling whirling snowstorm.
We can't go over it.
We can't go under it.
Oh no!
We’ve got to go through it!
Hoooo woooo!
Hoooo woooo!
Hoooo woooo!
Chu-chum-chum-chum-chum. Chu-chum-chum-chum-chum.
We're going on a bear hunt.
We’re going to catch a big one.
What a beautiful day!
We’re not scared.
Uh!-uh! A cave!
A narrow gloomy cave!
We can't go over it.
We can't go under it.
Oh no!
We’ve got to go through it!
Tiptoe!
Tiptoe!
Tiptoe!
What’s that?
One shiny wet nose!
Two big furry ears!
Two big googly eyes!
IT'S A BEAR!!!
Quick!
Back through the cave!
Tiptoe! Tiptoe! Tiptoe!
Back through the snowstorm!
Hoooo woooo! Hoooo woooo! Hoooo woooo!
Back through the forest!
Stumble trip! Stumble trip! Stumble trip!
Back through the mud!
Squelch squelch! Squelch squelch! Squelch squelch!
Back through the river!
Dive in!
Splash splosh! Splash splosh! Splash splosh!
Back through the grass!
Swishy swashy! Swishy swashy! Swishy swashy!
Down the road.
Get to our front door.
Open the door.
Up the stairs.
Du-du-du-du-du-du-dup.
Oh no!
We forgot to shut the door.
Back downstairs.
Du-du-du-du-du-du-dup.
Shut the door.
Back upstairs.
Du-du-du-du-du-du-dup.
Along the passage.
Into the bedroom.
Into bed.
Under the covers.
We're not going on a bear hunt again”.
Who is Michael Rosen?
My first book for children was called Mind Your Own Business and it came out in 1974. Quentin Blake did wonderful line drawings for it.
Ever since then, I’ve been doing these things:
Writing books
Writing articles for newspapers and magazines
Going to schools, libraries and theatres and performing the poems in my books
Helping children write poems and stories
Making radio programmes, mostly about words, language or books
Appearing on TV, either reading books, or talking about books
Teaching at universities about children’s literature
Running workshops for teachers about poetry
In any week, I might be doing all of these things! To tell the truth, I don’t really know what I’m doing tomorrow, unless I look in my diary to see.
#Michael Rosen
#Kids
#Poetry
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