Inspiring Young Readers

posted on 13 Apr 2026

Bear’s Perfect Dance by Rachel Tilda Wolf

I already have a huge collection of books about bears but there is always room for more. I haven’t done a numbers survey but, like elephants, this impressively huge creature is usually represented in children’s books as a friendly, often bumbling kind of character who can be trusted. But this is the first one that I have come across that shows a bear wearing a tutu and ballet shoes on the colourful cover.

When I recently shared this with a group of five year olds, we spent some time talking about why all the other admiring animals were around the bear. We wondered why they weren’t joining in as well, but one ballet dancing expert suggested that there might not be any small costumes available!

As the story unfolds we learn that Bear is determined to improve his dancing skills. He proudly wears his costume throughout the day and builds his exercises into his daily routine, touching his toes as he cleans his teeth, balancing his cereal bowl on his head and practising the splits as he eats. Despite his evident pleasure, he is rather lonely and dreams of dancing with a partner one day. He makes a checklist and some posters so that he can attract the perfect candidate. All his friends help him to advertise around the forest and he waits with anticipation for the auditions to begin. We wondered if there would be a long queue of hopeful creatures outside the door and were delighted to see that the garden was packed with an eager variety keen to show off their moves.

Another child wryly commented that ‘dancing is actually quite difficult even if you think you are good at it!’ As we turned the page we realised that this was indeed the case as no one measured up at all:

‘Beaver’s Boogie had no Woogie’, Snake’s Shimmy was too slithery’ and’Wild Pig’s Walz was ever so awkward’

We shared his disappointment and wondered if he would ever find happiness. A final knock at the door definitely cheers him up enormously, but I will leave it to you to find out why.

I strongly recommend that you add this unusual and engaging picture book published by ScallyWag Press to your own collection of bear books. It should be available to buy from your local independent bookshop who will order it for you if not already on their shelves.

 

Karen Argent

April  2026