“Bear Hunt” connects communities
The 1989 children’s book “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt” is coming to life in communities across the globe. To help children pass the time as school and activities are cancelled, people are displaying stuffed animals for kids to spot when they go on walks with their parents.
You probably remember most of the words.
“We’re going on a bear hunt. We’re going to catch a big one. What a beautiful day! We’re not scared.”
Obstacles are in the way – long grass, a river, mud, a dark forest, a whirling snowstorm, a cave.
“We can’t go over it. We can’t go under it. We’ve got to go through it!”
Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury’s 1989 children’s book “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt” is coming to life in communities across the globe. To help children pass the time as school and activities are cancelled in response to the coronavirus, people are placing stuffed animals in their front windows for kids to spot when they go on walks with their parents.
There have been sightings in England, Canada, New Zealand, and across the United States.
In Levelland, Texas, a bear was spotted in the front window of the Levelland Law Enforcement Center, home to the Levelland Police Department.
In Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, it was characters from the movie “Toy Story” along with Spiderman and Minnie Mouse. One family told the local news station they spotted 706 stuffed animals in front windows on one day alone.
And in Bartlett, Tennessee, less than 20 miles from the front door of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Mayor Keith McDonald, via Facebook, urged residents of the town to participate in the activity. He put a teddy bear in his front window.
As this global health crisis continues to evolve and impact everyone’s life, perhaps we can look to the words from “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt” for encouragement and relief.
In Bartlett. In New Zealand. Everywhere. There’s an obstacle in our way. We can’t go over it. We can’t go under it.
Together, we’re going to get through this.
