Today I’m excited to share One Very Big Bear by Alice Briere-Haquet. I’ve been meaning to flannelize this picture book for a LONG time, but Flannel Friday’s Picture Book Celebration this November encouraged me to get crafting and finally do it!
Bear thinks he’s the biggest thing around, but a succession of smaller animals soon set him straight. By the time six sardines prove they’re just as big, Bear decides they’re also just the right size for breakfast…
Remind you of someone else? I think this story would pair great with I’m The Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry!
Although the characters in the story are depicted in black and white, I decided to add a little color to my flannel take. I couldn’t decide what color to make the foxes but a Twitter poll soon guided me to the right decision. Doesn’t that orange look lovely?! I was really hung up on arctic foxes being white, but since polar bears and penguins appear together in the book, the story OBVIOUSLY must take place in a zoo. Therefore it’s totally fine that the foxes are orange and not white. That’s how I’m rationalizing it, anyways. 😅
I LOVE this book because the illustrations are enchanting and so they playfully and perfectly capture the math concepts! This deceptively simple story has some serious math going on inside. Size, measurement and even addition all come into play. It’s no wonder this book won the Mathical Book Prize in 2017!
Flannel Friday is celebrating Picture Book Month! Share your favorite flannelized picture books and stories all November long to the Flannel Friday Tumblr. Submissions will be shared with the Flannel Friday Facebook Group at the end of the month and saved to the Flannel Friday Archives on Pinterest.
Storytime in the Stacks 
I also made this one into a magnet story for my storytime! The kids really enjoyed it. After I made it I realized that it has a polar bear and penguins hanging out together, so the kids and I had a brief discussion about how in real life they live in different places. I may end up subbing out the penguins for puffins at some point.
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Oooh that’s a great idea!
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Love this story and felt. I have not heard of it before. Would you be able to send me a template for your walrus? He’s a hard shape to get just right!
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