Frank and Bert is a gorgeous, playful book about
friendship.
The story is narrated by Frank the fox, who introduces us to his best friend – Bert the bear. But as much as Frank loves Bert, Bert is terrible at hide-and-seek, and poor Frank is really quite over it. But apparently Bert thinks it’s just because he never gets quite enough time to hide!
How can a bear be expected to hide in ten measly seconds? So Frank graciously allows him to hide for a whole 100 seconds!
After the countdown, and traversing
multiple mounds and mountains, Bert finally finds a hiding spot. But sadly, he
doesn’t realise his scarf has caught on a tree and he has left a twine trail
right to him! Frank easily follows the trail, and sees Bert’s hiding spot, but
will it make him happy to find Bert and ruin the game? Frank has quite the
conundrum that everyone has to face at some point in their lives– is winning
everything? Or is it fair to let someone else have a turn?
Frank and Bert is a beautiful book that shows the importance of thinking outside of ourselves and dealing with the tricky subject of winning. It really highlights the importance of good sportsmanship, and how to be a great friend. Bert and Frank are just adorable and the ending was cheeky and satisfying. I love the twine of wool and following it along the page.
It also helps to teach young ones their numbers
and counting, and my toddler loved counting along all the way up to one
hundred. Sharing and winning is something that doesn't always come naturally to
most kids, so this book gently teaches how a vital part of friendship is thinking
about others when playing, and encourages fun and play in kiddos.
The illustrations are
adorable and I love the neon scarf and hat and how they add to the plot and the
game. The beautiful autumn colours teamed up with the creamy background
contrast wonderfully with the bright wool against the mossy mountains and
boulders.
I hope there are more Frank and Bert stories on the horizon,
as I really enjoyed this sweet gentle book.
Title: Frank and Bert
Author/Illustrator: Chris Naylor-Ballesteros
Publisher: Nosy Crow, $19.99
Publication Date: 3 February 2022
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781788008402
For ages: 3+
Type: Picture Book
