The Bear, the Piano and Little Bear's Concert

Another beautiful story of the bear and the piano. I'm a fan of this series, a great story accompanied by the most wonderful illustrations.
In this story we have the introduction of little bear and the return to the forest. This has a really uplifting message and is a great story to share.

This was a great finale to the series of the picture book set. I loved the art style and how the story came full circle. This reminded me why i loved the first book so much!

The Bear And The Piano was every music biopic ever, but better, because it was about a bear. The sequel was A Star Is Born, but better because it was about a bear and a dog. And now the series wraps up with a 'getting the band back together' riff, but better because it has a whole massive band of animals. Also, an adorable daddy-daughter story (the one thing cuter than a big bear is of course a big bear and a little bear together), and the colours! Oh, the colours. The golden hour light on the glade where the old piano waits; the bisexual lighting at nightfall over the strait which separates the forest from the city. A beautiful book in every way.

(Netgalley ARC)

This third and final installment in David Litchfield's beautiful The Bear and The Piano series is every bit as stunning to read and look at as its much-loved predecessors.

The tale begins with a reminder of bear and how he found great acclaim playing piano in the city. But as time has gone on and Bear has aged, the stages have got smaller and the applauses have quietened down. It's time for Bear to return home, for good this time. When he gets back to the forest, a new adventure begins for Bear with the arrival of Little Bear. He loves his new life with the energetic youngster but even Little Bear can tell something is missing. Can she help bring it back for him?

This is a heart-warming and beautiful story about how life may change and time may pass but your friends, family, talents and passions will always be there for you. David Litchfield's illustrations are truly stunning, his use of colours, blending and seeping into one another to create the most atmospheric scenes is just breath-taking, and he has created such a vivid world for Bear and his pals across all three books. A fitting finale for a wonderful series.

The last in the series of books that began with The Bear and the Piano, this is a gorgeous, heartwarming addition. The bear in the story has now retired and is consumed with family life. Little Bear realises that his father misses performing and invites his friend to come to their home where Little Bear hears music for the first time when they all perform together. My four year old daughter was mesmerised by this story and the beautiful illustrations that accompany it. Fans of the series so far will not be disappointed and this new story will, no doubt, attract new fans to the series also.

This is the third and final book in the trilogy for young children. These are my favourite picture books for my 5 year old. The illustrations are beautiful and transport us to the forest, it is full of imagination and characters you care about too. Just wonderful.

Thanks NetGalley for this copy to review.

This story is a really lovely, heartwarming tale with gorgeous illustrations as well - definitely a story I will read time and time again with my kids.
This is the 3rd in the series but I havnt read any of the others but that is now my mission - to find them all.
Would highly recommend

This series is exquisite and this book doesn't disappoint.

Litchfield's illustrations have an ethereal quality to them - you can almost feel their energy radiating from the page.

The Bear and his journey with the piano continues. As he moves into a different phase of his life, his priorities change and he forgets the things that used to be important to him. It takes help from Little Bear to make him realise that he will always have music in his heart.

A beautiful and emotional story. Another masterpiece from Litchfield.

The Bear, the Piano and Little Bear’s Concert by David Litchfield is a very sweet and cute tale. The illustrations are beautiful and complement the story very well.

The final book in the trilogy and it is just as beautiful as both of the first two! Litchfield's illustrations are simply stunning and the way he captures light in particular is just magical. As expected, the beautiful illustrations are tenderly matched with a simple yet wise narrative that in my opinion is a gentle and perfect ending to a wonderful trilogy.

A wonderfully illustrated story that nicely rounds off the trilogy, showing Children that you can inspire others just by being yourself!

A lovely conclusion to a beautiful trilogy this story finds bear reach the end of his musical career and see him settle down and have Little Bear.

For a series that emphasises following your passions and doing what you love it’s a poignant conclusion to have bear rediscover the magic of music and pass that on to his daughter.

The art -as always - is stunning, with the emotions of the bears beautifully rendered - however the real star of the show are the gorgeous backgrounds, teeming with light, and detail. Every page is somehow soothing. Litchfield’s art is tailor made for bedtime stories there is so much for you and your child to get from the pictures and gentle story here.

In short, another must buy book - perfectly completing Bear’s journey.

This book can be read by children of all ages as there are so many things that can be taken from it. From the younger children enjoying the story being read to them and enjoying the fabulous, vibrant illustrations, to older children who can read the book for themselves and understand the deeper meaning and life lessons which can be drawn from the book.
Utterly enjoyable for all ages.

A cute finale for a sweet series of books. Here, Bear is able to move on, have a family and share a part of his history. This is a story not just for children but for the adults reading it to their children who might not have thought their own passions important enough to share. This books says that they are.

Wow! I can't wait to share this book with my Year 2 class. You can't help but feel for bear as he loses the fame and glory of youth, only to be replaced by joy as it is replaced with a much greater gift - that of a child who idolises her daddy and his amazing talent. The illustrations are simple stunning and the echos with the original story help to conclude the trilogy perfectly. A really lovely story for children of all ages and their grown ups too!

This is the final book in the trilogy of gorgeous illustrated children's books. I read the first book, The Bear and the Piano, with my class last year and they loved it. This would be another beautiful book to share with them, with such a gorgeous message. Again, this book has gorgeous art, which is great to explore in depth with children, spotting all the little details. It's bright and colourful and really holds your attention.

I loved seeing how the Bear's life had changed since he moved away from the glitz and the glam of performing, and it was heart-warming to see how he had settled into life with his daughter Little Bear. I think it was really interesting to see Bear having fallen out of love with music a little, considering the previous focus on the importance of exploring your talents. It was lovely to see Little Bear reignite this passion in her father, and remind him of the joy music can bring to life, something he can share with his daughter. Again, there was a great focus on friendship and the support they can provide, with Hugo visiting the Bear, bringing with him all the animals who had been encouraged and inspired by the Bear and the Piano.

A lovely conclusion to the trilogy, one I can't wait to add to my collection and share with children I teach in the future.

A trilogy ends... the story of a rise and fall moves to the next generation.

I still remember being uplifted by the story of the bear in the woods, discovering a piano, a talent and an audience. It was beautiful and moving.
Another book looked at sharing the limelight and accepting others' talents with grace, at friendship. And now the final book in the Bear Trilogy looks at what happens when fame and your time in the spotlight come to an end.

Bear's audiences are shrinking, he's no longer the star draw he once was. Disenchanted and despondent, he returns to his forest home. A small bear later and he comes out of his slump as he sees the joy in simple pleasures again. But, of course, she eventually discovers the piano in the woods and sets about finding someone to help her dad rediscover his love of music.

This is a story between two tales: that of the prodigy Bear, his rise and fall and finding eventual peace, then that of the next generation looking for their own talent and continuing the family chronicle.

I found this very cinematic, with a lot of almost-storyboarded illustrations, very filmic drawings that would a delightful Christmas Day cartoon. The lessons are more accessible to older children, though younger ones will still appreciate those of family, caring for each other and the sadness of wanting attention.

A wonderful series, I hope the author has further inspiration for other picture books.

For ages 4-7.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing an advance reading copy.

I'm so excited to get my hands on a finished copy of this book; David Litchfield's books are always GORGEOUS and I absolutely adore his illustrations! Digital, whilst I still got to appreciate them, just doesn't do them justice and give you that same feeling that a beautiful physical copy of his books does!

The third book in this series, I was not disappointed. In fact, the sole thing I didn't like is the fact that it's the final book in this series!

This is such a beautiful story. Ada loves music and this book tells all about both the beauty and the importance of music, in everyone’s lives. It was wonderful to see just how much the music was a part of everyone and how much Bear had affected people’s lives, though he hadn’t known. It was also beautiful to see how much Little Bear would do to show her love for her dad. Such a brilliant tale.

I really liked this story and I thought that the images used were beautiful. The story in the book is lovely and I really enjoyed it. It is well written and it has a lovely flow to it – it is 5 stars from me for this one – very highly recommended!

A beautiful end to the Bear and the Piano trilogy. Bear has returned to the forest and his piano lays almost forgotten while he raises Little Bear. Little Bear realises Bear is happy but misses making music and when she discovers the piano, invites all the musicians her father used to play with to help him realise that people still want to hear him.
With David Litchfield's familiar illustrative style, this is another stunning book with pages that almost seem to twinkle with light.
I received an eARC of this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Reader, I cried!
In this eagerly anticipated finale, Bear’s concert hall filling days are over and Bear has returned to the forest for the final time. Sometimes he misses his old life and his musician friends but then Little Bear comes along and he spends his days playing and adventuring with his tiny daughter. When one day Little Bear stumbles across a piano in the forest, Bear almost wistfully begins to tell her stories about his piano-playing days, his travels and his old friends.

Little Bear writes a letter and eagerly awaits a reply, until one day Hugo and all of Bear’s musician friends arrive to play music with him once more, this time in the forest.

David Litchfield’s absolutely stunning artwork and the sentiments behind the books make this trilogy some of my favourite ever picture books. What I personally found so touching about this final book in the series is how it so beautifully captures the relationship between a father and daughter, the sense of nostalgia that Bear has for his younger days, and the power of music and friendship.

Particularly in this strange year of 2020, I can absolutely identify with Bear’s feelings!
With thanks for the gifted digital copy for review.