The Dancing Bear

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This was a touching and emotional story about a little girl who rescues a malnourished bear cub and brings it into her village, where it becomes a large part of their close-knit community. Randy Newman's song " Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear" is about a humble young man who entertains high society with his tame bear.

It was an interesting story, but the ending didn't really fit, if you get what I mean? It didn't make sense and it completely contradicted whatever we learnt about the characters in the first half of the book. If Roxanne was shown to be so loving and caring for the bear, why'd did she never see the letter? I get that people change with fame and success, but the author wrote Roxanne to be a sincere person, and it didn't make sense that she completely forgot about the bear. Well, being the curious sort that I am and working in the mental health field I had to know exactly what the young lady (and male clients) was talking about and how it could possibly be the source of such a response as heard from this young man.The narration was really relaxing to listen to though the story itself was quite sombre. My main issue with this book is the ending. I feel that the author wanted to make it sad so made something happen really abruptly but I felt that it didn't have the emotional impact that it should have had. There are many classroom exercises you could do with this book. The class could write a story with a different ending if Roxanne stayed with the bear, what would have happened? They could act out the book and play different characters showing the different emotions from each character. They could also write a diary from one of the characters point of view and how they felt about the bear being in their village.

The narrator was a character in the story (the headteacher/headmaster).The bear leaped at her while Roxanne (who was the main character and an orphan) was minding her own business. She showed it to her grandfather and the head kept convincing him to say yes and he did in the end. They were happy together... The Dancing Bear by Michael Morpurgo, tells the delicate story of an orphan called Roxanne who adopts an abandoned bear cub. The story is told from the perspective of Roxanne’s school teacher. The book is set in an isolated, mountainous village. The whole village allows Roxanne to adopt the bear, as they hope it will bring a financial profit to the village in the future. This hope is fulfilled when a TV crew come to the village, looking for a dancing bear to be in their new music video. But the video ends up featuring the bear and Roxanne. She is offered a chance of fame and luxury and leaves her sheltered life behind and her precious bear. The bear dies from heart break the next morning and the book ends. The popular children's television show, Captain Kangaroo , featured a character known as "Dancing Bear." In Russia and Siberia, cubs were for centuries captured for being used as dancing bears accompanying tavern musicians ( skomorokhi), as depicted in the Travels of Adam Olearius. [3] This story is good for people who like the Michael Morpurgo or who if you want to start reading his books.

Michael Morpurgo has a talent for making his animals come to life, he makes us wish we too could have a bear as our friend. In November 2016 Michael Morpurgo won the J M Barrie Award for his contribution to children’s literature.This award is given every year by Action for Children’s Arts to a “children’s arts practitioner” whose lifetime’s work has delighted children and will stand the test of time. I really liked this book even though it was sad at the end and made me cry. I think everyone should.read it. This sounds interesting and I think we all agree with the author that we need to help save animals natural environments. My middle daughter loves pandas but I know that they need help now as their natural environment is getting much smaller. Ooh my son really loves animals so I’ll have to show him these books! His favourite animal is a tortoise.

Dancing bears were widespread throughout Europe from the Middle Ages to the 19th century. They were still present on the streets of Spain in 2007, [4] and in Eastern Europe. You can also read about his life in War Child to War Horse,a collaborative biography with Maggie Fergusson. Neale, Adam (16 October 2007). "Dancing bears in Spain cause public outcry". The Olive Press . Retrieved 4 January 2017. Hello Yellow - 80 Books to Help Children Nurture Good Mental Health and Support With Anxiety and Wellbeing -

I read The Dancing Bear by M.Morpurgo. l enjoyed this book because it taught good morals and was a very kind and caring story. My favourite character is the bear because he was always happy for Roxie and never wanted to go against her and her decisions. I would recommend this book to all age groups but maybe more advanced readers. A short story from Morpurgo, but complete in its plot and character development. An orphaned bear is adopted by a girl in a mountain village, despite her father's protestations. The bear brings about prosperity and tourism to the people, and when a music video crew later visit to film a famous singer's latest pop video, life will change yet again. It's sad. As are all Morpurgo's books at times, but this is intended for younger, beginning readers, so quite a brave move to write the tale this way. It certainly covers points about stardom, contemporary aspirations and friendship with as much depth as books ten times its length. Had to have a favourite as I am a great animal lover, but the magnificent Tiger probably just edges it. Find out more about us, out latest crafts for kids and adults , be inspired by our free printables for kids or enter our latest giveaway.