Frida and Bear

I love Anthony Browne’s stories, the illustrations in particular are beautiful and are so intriguing to children. When I read Frida and Bear with the girls I instantly knew what I would have to design a book related activity for this wonderful story! This book really does inspire creativity and is a natural invitation to play the game that Frida and Bear play in the story.

Set Up

So this doesn’t actually need any set up. All you really need is the story Frida and Bear by Anthony Browne and Hanne Bartholin which is read first and then some paper. Any paper, including scrap will do.

So in the story Bear and Frida both love to draw but one day Bear doesn’t know what to draw. So Frida draws him a simple shape and asks Bear to turn it into something. Then they swap turns. So I drew both girls a shape and asked them to turn it into something. At first M was stumped: “What should I draw?” But as we carried on playing the more creative she became. F enjoyed drawing all over Mummy’s shape and was very proud of her creation. M was also keen to give Mummy a shape to turn into something else too.

This was such a great calm activity and it was nice to sit quietly all doodling away. M has, in the past, been reluctant to try to draw new things preferring to stick to what she feels confident drawing and asking mummy to draw anything new. So I was very impressed with the turtle she drew and her general confidence to give it a go by the end of the activity. It really is such a simple book related activity for toddlers and older children and one that can be done at home, in a restaurant, on a train or an aeroplane, or anywhere that you have a bit of time on your hands.