| Cost: | $8.99 |
| Company Site: | flurrythebear.com |
| Tumblr: | flurrythebear.tumblr.com |
| Notes: | Artwork of Flurry and Friends on this post are copyright of J.S. Skye. |
My family is big on reading. We read to the kids almost every day and are always looking for new books that can hold their attention. There are not a lot of kid friendly chapter books out there as most are meant for Tweens and Teens. Flurry the Bear is a wonderful story that will entice readers of all ages.
I had the pleasure of meeting J.S. Skye at Indy Pop Con in Indianapolis, IN this year and discovered the adorable tales of Flurry the Bear. I admit that when I saw it was a chapter book and not a picture book I wasn’t sure it was meant for kids at all. In truth it is meant for anyone and everyone.
Here is the description from the website which does a description of Flurry far more justice than I ever could.
“Life as a teddy bear isn’t always easy, as Flurry would attest. All Flurry’s ever known has been his life at the North Pole. He would play with the other little teddy bears and come home to a warm, loving family. However, Flurry had a knack for finding trouble, and find it he did. To keep him out of trouble Christopher Kringle gave Flurry a special assignment. Little did either of them know that fate had something special in store for Flurry.”
When trying to help your kids develop a love for reading you can’t just read them anything. You have to read them things that appeal to them, their favorite topics or even books from their favorite movies. We have tried chapter books before and a rare few last beyond that first mandatory chapter.
To be honest my son didn’t even want to read it at first but after just a couple pages was so engrossed I didn’t dare stop reading. Flurry the Bear and the Christmas Wish lasted until two never-fall-asleep children passed out while I was reading. Now, I would LOVE to think that the soothing powers of my voice helped lull them into their dreamland’s but I am not that crazy.
He fell asleep in my lap. That hasn’t happened in forever and certainly not for a story in a long time. The next day we had to finish the book and only stopped reading for a short break because I needed the break. The kids both loved the story of Flurry but I think my Gentleman was more interested than my Diva, she is only 3 after all.
We both laughed when Flurry would get into a little mischief since we both could relate to some of being misunderstood. My son also picked up on the fact that if Flurry had followed the rules he wouldn’t have gotten into as big a mess as he was in. I won’t give away WHAT the rule was or the trouble but I was pretty amazed that my son caught it.The fact that the story has a lesson or two is fantastic and I just love good stories that have a life lesson and a few subtle lessons woven into the tale. The main particular lesson that Flurry has to learn in the Christmas Wish is not one that my kids can really relate to even they are told they are cute a lot. However, the not listening so well part…we may now what that’s like.
The Christmas Wish includes Mr. and Mrs. Kringle but they are not called Santa or Claus at all. Christopher Kringle is a dark haired and bearded slender man with magic as opposed to the traditional Santa the world has come to know. I for one and not only ok with this I LOVE when someone re-imagines old characters as long as they do it well. I was not disappointed with Chris Kringle.
The story is well written and great for early readers and teens alike. I didn’t feel like I was reading a kids book but at the same time I knew my son would be able to read it in the near future. Characters were so well written and planned out that you could see them in your mind and almost anticipate how they would react to different situations.
Flurry the Bear and the Christmas Wish will be one of our Holiday books to read every year I think and probably a few times in between. I love how it stirs the imagination in my kids. My daughter is only 3 and just getting into pretending more and has now added talking stuffed animals to her every day play. My son has done this for awhile but I always love books that can help encourage imagination to grow.
If you are looking for a new series to share with your family then start with The Christmas Wish. There are other Flurry books as well and we are anxious to see what adventures Flurry has in store. I’m a little curious to see the lessons he learns to see if my kids can learn them as well.
If you liked The Christmas Wish, you should totally check out the rest of the books!! My favorite in particular is Flurry the Best and the Book of Snow which is the 4th book. Not only does it have cool characters, it takes Flurry to even more places and the adventure is so exciting!