We're Going on a Bear Hunt
We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen takes about 3.5 minutes to read aloud (410 words, about 2 sentences a page), and it lands best with children aged 2-5.
Measured read-aloud timeabout 3.5 minutes
- Words
- 410
- Sentences a page
- 2
- Re-read tolerance
- 5/5still fine on the fortieth reading
- Vocabulary
- 2/5everyday words
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The useful verdict
Why We're Going on a Bear Hunt works
Swishy swashy, splash splosh, squelch squerch - every obstacle has a noise and an action, so the whole book can be done with hands and feet, and the run home is read at double speed with the child shouting the sequence backwards. It is closer to a game than a story.
Before you buy it
It winds children up rather than down. Not a last-book-before-lights-out choice.
Themes: adventure, sounds, family, weather.
Same shape, new story
Books like We're Going on a Bear Hunt
Matched by length, refrain, sentence density, and listener—not just subject.
The Gruffaloabout 6 minutes · 5/5 re-read
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!about 1.5 minutes · 5/5 re-read
Chicka Chicka Boom Boomabout 2.5 minutes · 5/5 re-read
Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoesabout 2.5 minutes · 5/5 re-read
Press Hereabout 2.5 minutes · 5/5 re-read
Big Pumpkinabout 6 minutes · 5/5 re-read
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anythingabout 6.5 minutes · 5/5 re-read
From Head to Toeabout 2 minutes · 5/5 re-read
The Wonky Donkeyabout 3.5 minutes · 4/5 re-read
Straight answers
Questions parents ask about We're Going on a Bear Hunt
- How long does it take to read We're Going on a Bear Hunt aloud?
- About 3.5 minutes at an unhurried pace, from a word count of 410. Reading it fast shaves perhaps a third off; stopping for questions on every page can double it.
- What age is We're Going on a Bear Hunt actually for?
- Ages 2-5 in our testing, which is narrower than the publisher's range. With 2 sentences a page and vocabulary at 2 out of 5, it asks for that much attention span and no more.
- Does We're Going on a Bear Hunt survive being read on repeat?
- Yes - this is one of the few that is still fine on the fortieth reading, which is why it scores 5 out of 5 with us.
- Is We're Going on a Bear Hunt a good book for a child who will not sit still?
- It helps that it has a refrain a child can join in with, and it asks the child questions to answer out loud. Those three features are what keep a wriggling toddler listening, far more than the subject matter does.