By Maureen Tai, 31 August 2023

My two opinionated teenagers began their sibling relationship with a bunk bed, cuddles and bath-time play. To my dismay, they mostly bicker and bait each other these days, so much so that I lie awake some nights wondering how it all went so wrong. So maybe it was the Universe that led me to pull out Maya Tatsukawa’s delightfully humorous picture book, The Bear in My Family (3-7 years old) from the tightly-packed shelf of the local public library on a blistering, pre-typhoon day in Hong Kong. Tatsukawa’s soothing, pastel-coloured illustrations, reminiscent of Taro Gomi’s style (check out his wonderful picture books, in particular My Friends), are deceptively simple but full of thoughtful and clever details; the smooth pages irresistibly textured. The story opens with a stony-faced little boy’s statement: “I live with a bear.” Despite being part of the boy’s family, we learn that the titular Bear has some pretty undesirable traits and habits, and that this animal causes the boy no end of misery. What is the boy to do?

To say any more about this well-crafted picture book, would be to spoil it for any reader (and I’m not one for spoilers!). The Bear in My Family is definitely one to snuggle up to read together (preferably with siblings). We – yes, my teens read it too – came away with warm, fuzzy feelings and smiles on our faces. Unless I was imagining it, there was even a sister-brother goodnight hug that very evening, finally allowing me a rare good night’s sleep.

For ages 3-7 years old.