The Bookshelf: Old Bear by Jane Hissey

I am thrilled to share one of my favouite childhood books with you. Old Bear is an enchanting children's classic, richly illustrated by Jane Hissey in coloured pencil. 'Old Bear' himself was actually given to Jane as a gift from her grandmother when she was born and after much travelling has become rather worn out and thread-bare. He features in the story along with a range of other soft-toys and everyday objects that all belong to Jane and her family.

"Old bear has been up in the attic for a very long time, but he hasn't been forgotten. Bramwell Brown leads the toys in a rescue mission to being their friend, Old Bear, safely back home."

Jane Hissey studied Illustration and Design at the (now) University of Brighton and is now a successful full-time British author and illustrator.

I love the fact that Jane fully illustrates her stories with coloured pencils, this enables her to accurately record intruiguing texturual qualities and attention to detail which bring her delightful stories so beautifully to life.

"It wasn't anybody's birthday, but Bramwell Brown had a feeling that today was going to be a special day."

"Rabbit collected all the bricks and the others set about building the tower. It grew very tall, and Little Bear was just putting on the last brick when the tower began to wobble."

"Little Bear climbed on top of Rabbit's head and Rabbit hopped onto Duck's beak."

 "The two bears leapt bravely from the hole in the ceiling. Their handkerchief parachutes opened out and they floated gently down ... landing safely in the blanket."

 "'I knew it was going to be a special day,' said Bramwell Brown to himself."

'Old Bear' by Jane Hissey and her new book 'Ruby Blue and Blanket' are available to add to your collection by clicking below or on the Amazon link to the left!

Follow Jane on Twitter here!