The Big Dreaming
Michael Rosen and Daniel Egnéus
Bloomsbury Children’s Books


Little Bear has never experienced the long winter hibernation before so when he’s told of the Sleep he’s nervous about this unknown event. Together Little Bear and Big Bear decide that what’s coming is a Big Dreaming. But then Little Bear worries that he’ll run out of dreams and end up with a ‘Big Nothing’.
He decides to go in search of some dreams and off he goes through the forest till he meets a squirrel. “Squirrel, Squirrel, Squirrel,” he says. “We’re getting ready for the Big Dreaming, / we’re getting ready for the Sleep. / Do you have any spare dreams, / for when we sleep, deep, deep?” Squirrel offers his dream of ‘Happiness Right Now’


Little Bear’s next encounter is with a rabbit. He repeats his question (children will already be joining in) and Rabbit tells of the ‘Dream of Coming Home Safe’, and Wolf, the next creature Little Bear meets, talks of the ‘Always Having Hope’ dream.

As Little Bear heads for home, down comes the snow: the Cold has come. Now the ursine cub worries about getting back home in time for the Big Dreaming. But then he remembers dreams that he’s gathered from the other creatures and with the help of those, he finds his way back home to Big Bear.

Finally the two curl up together and dream and dream …


Poignant and lyrical, Michael’s telling will especially resonate with adult readers aloud who know of his covid journey and children will request frequent re-readings of the book which will give them the opportunity to savour such lines as ‘the light in the moon went out. / Like a candle blows out in the wind.’ They’ll savour too, Daniel Egnéus’s beautiful illustrations with their different perspectives and gorgeous autumnal colour palette, which then changes with the seasons. I hope that they will absorb the life lessons the story gently imparts.


I wonder what your answer might be should you be asked by a little human to offer your special dream.