Where Bjorn Belongs by Samuel Langley-Swain

This book is absolutely stunning. The illustrations are just perfect. Both myself and my 5 yr old were emotionally invested from the very beginning when we learnt that Arthur carried his bear wherever he went. Not only was he his companion, but he helped Arthur cope with challenging areas in his life. Something we could relate to as a family.
The heartbreak came when Arthur faced his difficult decision and I could see my son's face change and the empathy he had was incredible. He could so relate to this part of the book.
It was only when he saw the Arctic scene that his face lit up again. He was delighted to see Arthur achieving what he clearly wanted to do all his life and have Arthur where be belonged too.

We highly recommend this book. A beautiful Christmas story with an incredible way of addressing a difficult topic. Great conversation starter to get young children thinking. Absolutely fantastic.

This book is both enchanting and moving. Full of Christmas magic, friendship, love, and hope.

The story is about a boy called Arthur who finds Christmas overwhelming and relies on his precious polar bear for security and comfort.

Arthur mislays his bear buddy and asks Father Christmas for a new one. To Arthur’s surprise, on Christmas morning there was the most magical gift of all…a REAL life polar bear. He names 'Björn' and their friendship blossoms. Arthur soon realises what true friendship really means and has to make a tough decision.

I won’t giveaway anymore of the story but it’s full of Christmas magic and dreams coming true.

This is absolutely gorgeous picture book brought to life by the beautiful illustrations @art.mirna. The Wintery and Christmas scenes are just stunning

Such a gorgeous, heartwarming book with stunning illustrations.

The character Arthur resonated with my eldest so much. She kept saying how she related to him as she gets sensory overload in her day to day life. She said it made her feel like she's not alone and included.
His teddy is her Froggy. She connected to it on such a deeper level as a result of this and has since requested to take it into school to show all the children in her class.

The illustrations are gorgeous and really tell the story of the book. My 3 year old thought they were beautiful.

This is a perfect book to add to your festive collection this year. It's a great story about friendship and how letting go is sometimes for the best.

I think a lot of little ones will be able to relate to the main character Arthur. Without giving too much of the story away, Arthur has a polar bear teddy called Barney which he loses. He is upset to find that Barney is missing when he arrives home one day and he sets to work writing a letter to Father Christmas asking for a new polar bear. He's surprised to wake up on Christmas morning finding a real life polar bear right there in his garden! Although he takes really good care of Björn the polar bear, he accepts that he doesn't belong there with him forever. It's a great conversation starter about how what we'd like isn't always for the best or possible.

The illustrations are simply magical, they truly bring the magic of Christmas to life. You can just imagine the Christmas music playing!

My seven year old said he really enjoyed the book but felt sad when Arthur lost his bear and when the real life polar bear had to return to the arctic. He was glad that there was a happy ending though. We also loved looking at all the arctic animals names alongside the beautiful illustrations at the start and end of the book

The story brought back childhood memories for me of a polar bear cuddly toy o had when I was little. I called him Ozzy Bear, and I vividly remember buying him at a bring and buy sale at play school when I would have been 2 or 3 years old.

Where Bjorn belongs is a perfect winter addition for anyone's bookshelf. This story is so heartwarming and full of both love and loss, which are the feelings felt by so many during that festive time of year. This magical tale also includes letters to the North Pole, Santa, a sleigh ride across the sky and the surprise of a real polar bear in the garden. It really does have everything magical and sometimes difficult about that festive time of year rolled into one beautiful and emotional read, with the happiest of endings, that will be read over and over again every year.

It is without a doubt the most moving children's picture book I have ever read. I cried so much! I was already feeling emotional before reading it to my daughter, which definitely didn't help matters. She'd just drawn a picture of herself sat on a tree branch, so she could talk to my Nanna in the sky. After reading reviews and comments on Instagram, I already knew that this book was about missing someone who is now where they belong. What better time to read it to my daughter, than when she was missing someone too? Oh, but I was not prepared at all. I could barely read the words out loud, I was sobbing that much. Though the context was different, the emotion of saying goodbye to someone who would be better off somewhere else is very much the same. It helped my little girl talk about and understand that the person she's missing so much, is where THEY need to be to feel free and HAPPY.

Anyway, moving on from me being an emotional wreck, it is briefly mentioned within the story that melting ice is a huge problem for Polar Bears. It is made very clear that the answer to that problem is not a zoo and that isn't where animals belong. This is a great conversation starter on what we need to do to save their natural habitats, making this a great book for older children too.

Where Bjorn belongs is the first children's book I have read that represents Autistic children and how overwhelming that festive time of year can be, particularly for those who struggle with sensory overload. It isn't stated that Arthur is Autistic but if you know a little about Autism it is so clear, even down to how he takes his words so literally. Arthur's special interest is the Arctic. He collects Arctic toys and soft animals, draws pictures of them, and even dreams about going on Arctic adventures. It made my heart burst when he grows up and realises he too belongs in the Arctic. If you have, or know, neurodivergent little ones this book is a must have.

I must mention the incredible illustrations too. My daughter spent ages just asking questions about the Arctic animals on the illustrated opening pages, which have each of the species names jotted beside them. What a beautiful start to a beautiful story. I could go on and on but really you should just buy and read this new 'heartfelt Christmas classic!'