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Big Bear, Small Bear
Reading level 4 · First sentencesFirst wordsAnimalsAges 3–5

Big Bear, Small Bear

by ReadRead · 90 sec

Big Bear has a big cup. Small Bear has a small cup! A very first book for very new readers: one short sentence at a time, and the picture always shows the word.

7pop-up spreads
31things to tap
2new words
Words in this book
bigsmallballbearbouncechairhellolifts
Peek inside

Free to read

This book is free for every family.

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Inside the book

Big Bear and Small Bear have a picnic in a sunny forest. Big Bear has a big chair, and Small Bear has a small chair. Big Bear has a big cup, and Small Bear has a small cup. Then Small Bear climbs into the big chair. Uh-oh! It is too big. So Big Bear lifts Small Bear up, and at sunset there is a big hug and a small hug.

Big Bear sits in his big chair beside the small chair in Big Bear, Small Bear.
Big Bear sits in his big chair beside the small chair in Big Bear, Small Bear.
Big Bear and Small Bear wave hello at a forest picnic.
Big Bear and Small Bear wave hello at a forest picnic.
Uh-oh! Small Bear sits in the big chair, and it is much too big.
Uh-oh! Small Bear sits in the big chair, and it is much too big.
At sunset, Big Bear gives Small Bear a big hug.
At sunset, Big Bear gives Small Bear a big hug.

The new words in this book

big

Large, much more than the other one. It comes up 11 times (Big Bear’s name counts too), and every time something big puffs up on the page: Big Bear, the big chair, the big cup, the big ball and the big honey pot.

small

Little, much less than the other one. It comes up 11 times, and every time something small shrinks down with a squeak: Small Bear, the small chair, the small cup, the small ball and the small honey pot.

Made for children just starting kindergarten. The book shows one short sentence at a time (3 to 6 words) in one pattern: “Big Bear has a big cup.” / “Small Bear has a small cup.” Only one word changes, and the two sentences play out on the same page, so a child can say it with you by the third spread. The two things are always side by side, so the picture shows what big and small mean. Every other word is one a 4-year-old already knows, like bear, chair, cup, ball, hug and night.

Questions to ask while you read

Pause after each spread and ask one question. There are no right answers; the point is to get your child talking.

  1. 1Which bear is big? Which bear is small?
  2. 2Point to the big chair and the small chair. Who sits in each one?
  3. 3Show me with your hands: how big is Big Bear’s cup? How small is Small Bear’s cup?
  4. 4Which ball bounces higher, the big one or the small one?
  5. 5Uh-oh! Why is the big chair too big for Small Bear? How does Big Bear help?
  6. 6Tap a thing. Is it big or small?
  7. 7Give someone a big hug. Now a small hug!

How hard is this book?

4
Reading level · KFirst sentences

About 50 words, one short sentence at a time, one pattern that repeats.

66words in all
24different words
6words per sentence
7longest sentence
More books at this level
Words a child can sound out, by phonics step
Step 1 · short a, i, o56%
Step 2 · all short vowels67%
Step 3 · blends88%
Step 4 · magic e, ee/ai92%
Step 5 · ar/or, oo/ou98%
Step 6 · longer words100%
Grammar in this book
  • Dialogue × 1Uh-oh! Too big for Small Bear!
Words that may stop a reader
hellobouncenightchairyay
All 23 words, most used first

big 11 · small 11 · a 4 · has 4 · and 3 · ball 2 · bounce 2 · chair 2 · cup 2 · hug 2 · night 2 · all · for · hello · lifts · oh · tap · the · things · too · uh · up · yay

Names don’t count: the picture shows who it is.

Tips for parents

  • First time: use Read to me and just enjoy the pictures together. It takes about a minute and a half.
  • Act the words: stretch your arms wide on “big”, curl up tiny on “small”.
  • Read it again and pause before the last word of each page, so your child can say “big” or “small”.
  • Around the house, find a big one and a small one: shoes, spoons, cups, books.
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