Do you remember those poems your mom used to tell you at night before bed? Those little ditties and nursery rhymes that instantly transport you back to a different time?
Fuzzy Wuzzy was one of those for me. (Go ahead, say that sentence 5 times fast)
In case you’re wondering exactly how old I am, I have vivid memories of my Teddy Ruxbin playing a sing-a-long tape with absolute classics like Polly Wolly Doodle, Skip To My Lou, and The Farmer In The Dell.
Mixed in with all these childhood nostalgia are a few of my favorite memories. You Are My Sunshine – which will always hold spot number one, the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney Land for reasons completely unknown to me…I just liked it, and Fuzzy Wuzzy.
Which is why I was completely thrilled to see that someone was bringing the classic Fuzzy Wuzzy back onto our bookshelves with a new story. And all I can say is, it didn’t disappoint.
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An old classic
If you’re unfamiliar with Fuzzy Wuzzy, it’s pretty simple:
Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear,
Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair,
Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t really fuzzy,
Was he?
There are several historical versions of the words, but the most notable continues on to talk about Silly Willy the worm and Iddy Biddy the mouse.
Even further back, it’s possible the term Fuzzy Wuzzy came from a rather lengthier and much darker poem (in the non-for-kids poetry sense) from Rudyard Kipling referring to a particularly brave and successful tribe of Sudanese warrior who fought the British in Africa.
All that aside, though, the modern-day Fuzzy Wuzzy is a much-loved childhood bear.
And he is given a new life and family in Craig Sidell’s childern’s book “The Life and Times of Fuzzy Wuzzy.”
A New Fuzzy Wuzzy For Kids to Love
In Sidell’s retelling of our glorious bear, Fuzzy is a husband and father. He is also generous, enjoys singing and dancing and his cave, and lives a wonderful life.
The beautiful part of this story, though, is that it teaches you can live an amazing life full of love and wondering despite how you look.
After all, have you ever seen a bear without hair?
This book also has absolutely beautiful illustrations by Russian artist Evgeniya Kozhovnikova. The watercolors themselves are worth buying the book for.
A few notes
This book is 100% worth sharing with your kids if you, like me, grew up with Fuzzy Wuzzy.
My kids are a bit older, but I’m happy to have received a copy so that I can share it with my young nieces and nephew.
I will say, however, that it’s been awhile since I’ve bought kids books and I’ve forgotten how pricey they can be. Amazon has it for the most reasonable price of $15.57 as of the time of writing this.
Amazon does show it as being a reader for children 8-10 years old. I would argue that this book is much more suited for parents who are sharing the story with their children who are not yet of a reading age. Or perhaps just learning to read. The easy rhymes would be good for a K-1 reader.
The book is printed by Histria books and is a nice hardback with durable pages that will withstand a little wear.
And like I mentioned above, the artwork is so eye-catching that it’s almost worth the price all by itself.
I received this book for review. The opinions within this post are my own and I was not influenced in any way.
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