Imagine a bear. One that is friendly, speaks several languages, and has a remarkable way of showing up when someone needs help. That bear is Jacques the Bear. His name is pronounced just like the famous deep sea explorer, Jacques Cousteau.
This book, The Adventures of Jacques the Bear, is a compilation of four individual stories contained in four paperback books shown below. This book and the ones below are written for the 3rd to 4th grade reader but children and adults of all ages will enjoy them.
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This is known as The Golden Rule. This delightful story is about a little bear who helps a young boy in distress. One day while enjoying a walk along the side of a road, Jacques the Bear hears a cry for help. With a leap over the guardrail, Jacques makes his way down the steep hill to Sam who has fallen down the hill and hurt himself. Jacques shows compassion for the young boy and helps him get back up the hill and get medical attention. Jacques the Bear is a story of treating others as you would want to be treated. It is also about being helpful and developing lasting friendships.
Sometimes our fears prevent us from growing as an individual and keep us from enjoying life. This story is about our little friend, Jacques the Bear, who helps a little girl named Becca overcome her fears and gain more confidence in herself. While watching a soccer game one day, Jacques notices little Becca running away from the ball every time it came near her. He finds an opportunity to go over and talk to her about not being scared of the ball and seeing the joy in kicking the ball back and forth. She also discovers through this talk that even if the ball hits you it only stings for a minute and helps you get stronger. This new confidence helps her face her fears not only in soccer but life too.
This story is about following your dreams. Robert, a young boy who has just moved into a new neighborhood, wants so badly to be cool and to impress people with his skateboard tricks. However, his parents don t want him to be a skateboarder. That's when our friend Jacques the Bear knows there might be more to the story. As it turns out Robert's parents had been concerned that Robert might get in with the wrong crowd. Jacques' advice is simple, 'By listening to and obeying your parents, you will be doing what s right and it shows you respect them.' After Robert talks with his parents, they decide to support his dream.
This final story of Jacques the Bear is about a little boy named Lewis who is rescued after falling through the ice, but it is also about bonds of friendship. We know that there will be friends in our lives that will be closer than a brother or sister to us but we also know that there will be friends that try and tempt or dare us into doing things we know we should not do. This is exactly what happens to Lewis. His friends toss a ball out on a frozen lake and then he is dared to go get it. Luckily, Jacques and friends are there to pull him out after he falls in.Thus the lesson is to choose your friends wisely, just say no when tempted to do something wrong, and be there for your friends when they need help.