The Rug Bear

Cute fun story about wild animals in the woods. Makes a fun bedtime story. Little lesson about not judging anyone by the way they look.

Cute story
Colorful illustrations

A game of hide & seek turns into nap time for Bear.
All the forest critters find his soft fur a cozy spot to rest.
Bear almost sleeps through the fun.

A great story for bedtime..
Really love this story.

ARC provided by NetGalley and Troubador Publishing.

Does every story need a point? The point in Rug Bear seems at first to be hiding, though it is there under the surface after a bit of searching. Perhaps the point of this one is that looks may be deceiving, as we learn that the bear who looks like a rug when he falls asleep in the forest isn't the kind to eat all the oblivious animals. Instead, he's more of a Pooh type who likes honey and tea, though he may look somewhat intimidating. I found the payoff here to be small, though I did appreciate much of the artwork, despite some inconsistencies in the hard lines and detail from animal to animal. More, the story begins with a hide and seek scenario involving a fox and lion, who seem underutilized in the scope of the story, which doesn't really need that framing device. It seems like it is used to make the story more interesting, but doesn't exactly go all the way.

Anyway, I did enjoy this, especially the artwork. There is a classical look to it that reminds me of 90's childrens books from my childhood. It's also a simple, fun story that I honestly don't think needs to justify its existence to a snob like me.

This is a cute story about animals in the woods. It is a good "settle down time" story for my young nephew and I like how it encourages people not to judge others based on appearance.

This was a really cute children's story. My grandson chose it to read on a visit and he enjoyed it. It was fun and light, just what we were going for. The illustrations were really cute too. I would recommend it for young children.

The Rug Bear by Emma Rattray was a sweet book with great colourful Illustrations throughout.
The story is about a Bear playing hide and seek in the forest with his good friends, Lion and Fox. But a day of games has made him very tired indeed and, in the shadow of a tall tree, Bear falls into a very deep sleep.
My nephew loved it and made a story of the pictures after I had read it to him. Then, wanted to play Hide and seek around my house.

Thank you to NetGalley and Troubador Publishing Ltd. for providing me with a free electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.

*thank you to Netgalley, Troubador Publishing Ltd/Matador and the author for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

5 stars.

I really liked this. The illustrations are bright and very colourful. The story was fun and cute. I loved how friendly everyone was. This is definitely a picture book I would have loved as a little kid. Definitely recommend.

The target audience for this book are kids up to around 6 years old. For that age, this book is fairly drawn out and there is not a connection with any of the characters.

I love the writing, text style, and illustrations of this book. I love the simple rhyming with the "What is that brown furry rug going there? ... Ladybug didn't know the rug was a bear." This is definitely a book on my to-buy list.

"A bear ran fast over
the woodland ground,
playing hide and seek,
he didn't want to be found.

'If I hide here,
Lion and Fox won't find me!' said Bear.
'I'll hide in the shadow of this tall tree."


A free-spirited brown bear has been playing games all day with his friends. He decides to hide under the shadow of a tall tree. He lays down exhausted and falls into a deep asleep.

Different forest animals going about their busy day mistaken him for a soft comfy rug and decide to take a break and rest in his soft fur. Wow! They never noticed this cool rug here before. It's perfect for a little layover before they continue on with their daily journeys.

A shop-a-holic mouse, a hare carrying a heavy load of logs, a tired squirrel that needs a break from dusting his tree, a little lady bug whose curiosity gets the best of her, and a busy bee, all take time out and take advantage of the rug's hospitality.

Unfortunately the rhyme scheme is off making it hard to read out loud. I personally am not a fan of the cover. It is very dark and does not motivate one to open up the book and pursue its content. The rest of the illustrations are appealing but the cover needs a rethink. Kids will like the characters and the comradary of bear and his friends.