Nicola O'ByrneRezensionen

I have a weakness for naughty crocodiles, so I loved this one about a crocodile that sets the narrator off track.

The story is fine, but it is the illustrations that made this one land for the cat enthusiasts in my house.

Read to a Year 1 class, who loved it!

I'm not sure how I feel about a tutu and bow being used as an insult / device to make the male crocodile less scary...

Fluffykins is a bad kitty. He starts by knocking over the pretty vase of flowers. The narrator is trying to make him apologize to no avail. He just moves on to the yarn and unravels the whole ball and keeps on going in his quest to create chaos. I would recommend this for any collection. Fluffykins is like any cat and cat owners will be able to relate to the no remorse attitude of a cat. The illustrations are super cute and the print is easy to read. It would make a great read a loud for storytimes and talking with children about what happens next and consequences for ones actions.

Wonderful description of human-cat interaction.

And very funny.

Illustrations are terrific and so expressive.

"The Ugly Duckling" is interrupted by a crocodile - "a really big scary one!" - and it's up to the reader to get it out. Funny and interactive, good for storytime.

See also: The Incredible Book-Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers; There's A Monster in Your Book by Tom Fletcher; Hungry Bunny by Claudia Rueda½

Geared to ages 3-7 Nicola O'Byrne's new book Where Is Home, Daddy Bear? tells the story of a father and daughter who are moving to a new home. Daughter, Evie, is full of worries. With reassurance from her father, Evie learns that home is where your family is.
The book includes beautiful illustrations by the author that enhances the simple story.

5 STARS for just the drawings themselves. There was a great amount of detail that went into the pictures for this story. I think my son enjoyed finding all the cute things (like the snail) that were hidden on the pages. The story itself is a wonderful tale of love and support. I truly enjoyed this book. Well done! It's going on the shelf.

This is a fine book for a child who is going through the process of a move. The central theme is directly stated in the book, "Home is people who love you. Home is me and you." The book mainly consists of a conversation between Daddy Bear and Evie. Evie asks questions and Daddy Bear has wise words of wisdom. If you don't mind the didactic nature of the book, it covers a child's common fears about moving. The illustrations are sweet and fitting to the story, although I will second what other reviewers have mentioned about the photograph of the Mama Bear not being addressed in the story.½

I thought it was a great book to help ease fears children face when moving to a new home. I recommend it and will be placing it in a little library.

A little bear and her Dad are packing up and moving to a new place. Little Evie is sad and reluctant. As they travel to the new home, which is quite far away, they play games in the car, stop at a restaurant to eat, and camp out for the night. This is a sweet, touching story with very bright and loving illustrations.

Wonderful illustrations take Evie and her father on a journey to their new house. Evie has many questions. Will she like it? Will she find friends? Her father offers comfort as he answers her questions and helps Evie learn that home is not about a place but family and the people who love you.

Received an ARC in exchange for honest review.

Cute little read. Daddy Bear and Daughter Bear move to a new house and Daddy Bear does his best to make Daughter Bear feel at home

(I received a free early reviewer copy of this book)

On the whole, I liked this book. The warmth of the illustrations, the sweeteness in the relationship between a father and a daughter (in children's literature, we don't see enough father's warmth, so this was particularly nice), the acknowledgements around sadness and transitions, but like other reviewers, the vagueness around the mother (or lack thereof)was odd. Having a picture at the end of a family of three without any mention of why seemed an odd choice. I probably wouldn't have worried if that picture was not included in the illustration, but because it was, it sort of raises more questions than are strictly necessary. Having not read this with a child, I can't know how a child would react, but I can imagine a child asking, "where's the mommy?" when seeing the picture. In general, a gentle treatment of a general topic that many families face.

Adorable book about a father and daughter moving to a new house all the while contemplating the real meaning of home. This led to a lovely discussion with my 3 year old about how home is not a place - home is people, and therefore, it did just what it was supposed to do.

Cute story about a bear and her dad moving to a new home. At first, she a little scared but learns that home is where you are loved.

#LibraryThing #WhereIsHomeDaddyBear @FlyawayBooks (Thanks for the early reader's copy.)

Nicola O'Byrne tackles a challenging and important topic with this charming and colorful children's tale. Daddy and Evie Bear are faced with a significant change in their living arrangements. They've packed up their belongings and head out to relocate to a new home that is some distance away.

I am very torn on this book. There are aspects to recommend it. Evie is allowed to experience her emotions connected to the relocation and Daddy Bear offers some helpful encouragement along the way. When Evie asks Where am I from now? Our old home, or our new home?, Daddy replies with some wisdom, Maybe a little bit of both. There are also some heart-warming interactions between the pair as their relationship takes center stage in defining "Home." And finally the vibrant artwork compliments the text. The presence of the mouse family silently joining the bear family on their relocation is a nice touch.

However, I also found some curious limitations. When Evie asks Why do we have to move? Daddy simply responds with everything changes eventually. This response seems very insufficient. Surely there is something more driving this decision to make such a major life-change. Part of the reason for this major shift seems to be implied by the absence of Evie's mother. She appears in a photo that is among their possessions, but we learn nothing about this element to the story. Whatever is the reason for the mother's absence, it is surely more appropriate to talk about these reasons then to simply fall back on everything changes.

The second aspect that I struggled with is Daddy's comment I don't think home is a place. While I certainly accept the idea that home encompasses far more than simply a building I don't think the importance of the physical structure should be minimized. When a family loses their home to fire or another natural disaster there is certainly some profound grieving over this heavy loss of a "family space." I don't think there is anything wrong with that grief even as we recognize that a new space can also become "home."

I'll stop there since I am embarrassed when my review summary approaches a word total that is nearly equal to the original story. Overall, I do recommend this book. It is warm, encouraging and helpful with a colorful vibrancy.

3 1/2 stars.½

Early Reviewer Book.

Delightful story of Evie Bear and her dad. They are moving to a new place and she is worried about what it will be like. Her dad continues to reassure her that it will be fine. When they get to the new house, she realizes that “home is people who love you”.

Cute illustrations and well written with simply language. This would be a great going away gift for a child who is moving.

A nice, purpose-made children's book that I hope will bring comfort to many families, parents and children alike.

Moving can be traumatic; the assumptions we make about the stability of our home are revealed as illusions, and we find ourselves called upon to reconstruct our lives out of the component pieces. It's a difficult thing for adults, and for children -- especially those who have never gone through it before -- it may be overwhelming.

"Where is Home, Daddy Bear?" begins by acknowledging and validating these emotions, and then answers many of the most common questions and issues in a move. I particularly liked the question, "Where is home now?" when you are in the awkward in-between part of a move.

The book does not attempt to make the hard questions go away, but rather redirects the reader to those parts of family which are stable, togetherness and love and belonging.

There is also an undercurrent of loss, a photo of the family that includes a mother bear, who is not present in the story. One gets the sense that the home they are leaving behind might have even stronger emotional ties than we thought. Young readers might not pick up on this, but it made the story that much more meaningful as an adult.

Great book, great illustrations, highly recommended.

EDIT: Over the last few months, my daughter has really made this book one of her favorites. Great rereadability!

This is a wonderful book with bright, cute illustrations. The subject deals with moving to a different house. The story talks about all of the different emotions that parents and children both feel when they have to move. In the end, both father and daughter agree that "home is people who love you".

Children love this story about a rabbit who does not want to do to bed and tricks The Dark into his cookie tin. The Dark teaches the Rabbit a lesson on how important The Dark is for everyone. A surprise ending has the children amazed at The Dark. Great book for a lesson on nocturnal animals and how important the changes from day to night are with outside creatures and for themselves. Highly recommended.

Fun to read, participatory book

This book is a take on "Little Red Riding Hood", but encourages a different point of view, where a rabbit and a wolf create the scenery, hero, and bad guy to the story. Instead of the rabbit getting eaten, he demonstrates how imagination is a tool at his disposal. This book would be good with second graders, giving them inspiration about how they would create their own written/oral short story/fairytale. It would also be good in examining what students think about imagination