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The Bear and the Piano

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The Bear and the Piano by David Litchfield

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By David Litchfield

avg rating

92 reviews

The first book in the best-selling, award-winning ‘Bear and the Piano’ trilogy.
 
Winner of the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, Illustrated Book Category for 2016
 
Over 120,000 copies have been sold of The Bear and the Piano in the UK.

One day, a young bear stumbles upon something he has never seen before in the forest. As time passes, he teaches himself how to play the strange instrument, and eventually the beautiful sounds are heard by a father and son who are picnicking in the woods. The bear goes with them on an incredible journey to New York, where his piano playing makes him a huge star. He has fame, fortune and all the music in the world, but he misses the friends and family he has left behind. A moving tale of exploration and belonging from best-selling and critically acclaimed author David Litchfield. 

The Sunday Times –‘The influence of the great illustrators Jon Klasen and Shaun Tan are detectable in David Litchfield’s opulent The Bear and the Piano.’
The Guardian –‘This book is full of breath-taking scenes, from the stunning forest to the rich New York skyline.’
Huffington Post —‘A heart-warming and beautifully illustrated tale of music, friendship and adventure.’
The Daily Mail —‘A sumptuous treat… [Litchfield] weaves magic with light and space…The ending will have your heart soaring like a soprano’s top C.’
The Bookseller —‘One of the most impressive debuts of the autumn, this is a really stunning picture book with both critical and commercial appeal […] Distinctive, atmospheric and uplifting, it’s my picture book of the year.’

**Don’t miss David Litchfield’s other books:

The Bear and the Piano 1
The Bear, the Piano, The Dog and the Fiddle 2
The Bear, the Piano and Little Bear’s Concert 3
Grandad’s Secret Giant
Lights on Cotton Rock
 

Reviews

23 Jul 2025

This was a lovely story and reminded me that talents can be discovered in surprising places but only grow with nurture, time and practice. It also encourages thought about what is ultimately important to us and how we express what is of value.

21 Jul 2025

I thought it was the best thing ever.

18 Jul 2025

I like this book because the sound of the piano is beautiful. And I like the bear who is playing piano. I would like to recommend this book to my friends.

24 May 2025

So lovely that all bears friends supported him and didn’t forget him.

30 Apr 2025

I would recommend this this to people, I loved this book. The bear was excited to go to the city and he was a really good piano player.

15 Aug 2024

My favourite bit is where he goes to the big city and makes lots of friends

05 Aug 2024

Yes it was fiction and I liked the bear the most because he was kind
and he isn’t shy at all and he loves music like me and my family and I loved that he was very unique and understanding and he never forgets about anyone.

25 Jul 2024

The bear's friend who believed in the bear and cheered for him from far away were cool, and I wanted to meet a friend like that.

21 Dec 2023

It’s good because he made new friends in the city, but he missed his old friends so he decided to go back. I loved it!

05 Nov 2023

I read that book last night and I loved it

01 Sep 2023

I love the sounds and the music

08 Aug 2023

I like the bear and the piano (but I don’t like the feeling of being apart)

08 Aug 2023

I enjoyed reading how the bear practices and becomes so good at the piano without even knowing what it is. I also liked that he didn't forget his friends, and they remembered him. I wish at the end he and his friends have a party to show what good friends they are.

04 Aug 2023

Great read

03 Aug 2023

I liked it when bear missed his friends and decided to go home .

03 Aug 2023

I think this book is interesting. Reason is the bear can do piano and he went to city. And people are love to listen bear's piano music. I was so funny, interesting, strange.

02 Aug 2023

The best but was when he played the piano with his friends and family at the end.

01 Aug 2023

I like that he explores and his friends are still there and kept the piano safe

30 Jul 2023

Exciting and kind of funny

28 Jul 2023

I liked this book because I’m learning how to play the piano, and I find the piano interesting. My favourite character was the little girl because she was holding an autograph from the bear. I would recommend this book to my friends because it’s about including your friends and being kind.

28 Jul 2023

I love this book because the bear goes and plays the piano for over 1,000 people.

24 Jul 2023

I love how proud his friends are

22 Jul 2023

I liked the bear.

18 Jul 2023

This book is fiction, it is really good because the bear thought his friends had forgotten about him, as they weren't in the clearing and his piano wasn't there, he went into the city and did lots of concerts on a piano. when he came back they did remember him and they had lots of pictures from magazines and stuck them up on vines and the piano was in the middle of all the pictures. This made me feel happy because the bear liked the piano and I like bears.

11 Sep 2022

Heart-warming tale about a bear who follows his dreams.

29 Aug 2022

Funny bear. Nice story

23 Aug 2022

A lovely story about family and friends.

18 Aug 2022

I would recommend the book because it shows that no matter what you will be in life never forget your friends

13 Aug 2022

I like how the bear grew up and playing the piano.
I like how he was the forest and then came to city and later came home
The Grey bear was the person I like beat
So from little to big bear playing the piano
Yes I will l

06 Aug 2022

The bear live in the forest. One day he found a piano. One day a girl and his daddy came and invited him to come to the city. The bear played in the theatre with hundreds of people watching
I liked the bears

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