My favourite title to share this Halloween – How to Scare a Mouse and Bear
- Written and Illustrated by Ross Collins
- Published by Nosy Crow
There’s something so special about sharing the perfect book with a child; seeing their little faces light up and their joy, and this latest title in the Mouse and Bear series from Ross Collins and Nosy Crow has become my favourite book to share this month as Halloween approached. What better timing to share my thoughts than Halloween night – with a backdrop of fireworks outside and the aroma of pumpkin carving in their air.
We have really enjoyed the earlier titles featuring the most adorable duo to be illustrated and written about in picture books, and as such I get so excited when details are shared of a new title with them in being published, this one for Halloween made me squeal when I saw some examples of the illustrations via Ross’ instagram, and there will indeed be a Christmas title releasing before 2025 is out – I CANNOT WAIT! If you are yet to get to know Mouse and Bear then I highly recommend them – they truly are the most wholesome picture books to get comfy and cosy and share with little ones who in turn have beaming smiles when they see these books.
Mouse and Bear are up to the sorts of activities that children come to know and love about Halloween – dressing up as spooky characters and trying to scare others. Trying is exactly how you would describe Bear’s efforts as he trys one costume after another to scare Mouse with, and I couldn’t help but admire Bear’s perserverance as he shows he is no quitter through the amount of times he changes costume after one by one is thwarted by a far too sensible and logical thinking Mouse. Some times Mouse seems disappointed that Bear’s costumes aren’t better and seems to goad a better try next time from the larger animal, other times Mouse seems to guess or expect in advance of the appearance of Bear, but the conclusion of this dynamic duos Halloween adventures sees them both scared – notably from the appearance of a most unexpected, and totally unwanted, guest. A spooky one!
I think what we’ve come to love, as someone who has made some priceless memories sharing the titles to date in this series including this one with little ones, is how welcoming from the get go the scenes and the two key characters are for readers. The illustrations give cosy and comforting vibes regardless of what crazy antics are unfolding, and the soft and traditional way the pair are drawn gives them a timeless feel. The scenes are those of Mouse and/or Bear’s homes and they literally feel like a home away from home you get transported to as each story unfolds, and perhaps what makes them so much fun for little ones is that the behaviours of the duo are often recognisable and relatable, with this Halloween title seeing Bear try to scare Mouse by putting a sheet over himself and behaving like a ghoul, something even us older readers recognise first hand from our own childhoods.
It is this use of classic childhood behaviourisms displayed with so much fun at its core, especially the activities Mouse and Bear undertake that ensure plenty of laughter along the way when reading this book aloud, and the really little ones love the detail in the illustrations with this particular book featuring pumpkins adorning happy faces on most of the pages which garner huge smiles back. The humour felt through the text element of this book has to be there for the pleasure of older readers, and us old of the older readers appreciate this inclusion as it ensures you read the book with a lightness in your voice and your own grin too. It is the feel good of all feed goods in book format, themed for Halloween but perfect for sharing all year round too, and one of my favourite books of 2025 for sure.
I have only had this book about a week so far and I have read and reread it a multitude of times so far, and I know it will one that the little ones ask to hear time and time again within my wider community, and I am thrilled that some parents have bought their own copy and shared the delight they have witnessed from their children as they have had their own experiences sharing in this utterly perfect book.
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