Lion & Bear Review 2025

If you’re a parent, grandparent, or gift-giver looking for a fun and meaningful way to build a child’s home library—without endlessly scrolling through book lists or second-guessing your picks—Lion & Bear might just be the perfect solution!

Lion & Bear is a children’s book subscription service designed to foster a love of reading and help parents create joyful family memories—all while making it easier than ever to discover high-quality books. Each box delivers thoughtfully selected titles that encourage curiosity, imagination, and connection, making storytime a special part of everyday life. Whether you’re a busy parent or looking for a unique gift, this subscription brings the magic of books right to your doorstep.

*They kindly sent this box for review.

Lion & Bear Subscription Details

Lion & Bear is a proudly Canadian, mom-owned business founded by two best friends and mothers. Inspired by a love of reading and the joy of connecting through books, they created Lion & Bear to simplify the book-buying process for busy parents. Their thoughtfully curated children’s book subscription service is designed for kids aged 0-5, delivering two new, high-quality books every month right to your door.

Each Lion & Bear book set includes two brand-new children’s books carefully curated for kids aged 0-5 and delivered straight to your door every month. Subscribers can select the age range that best suits their child, ensuring that each book is perfectly tailored to their developmental stage and interests. Every book is thoughtfully handpicked and approved by two moms who are passionate about fostering a love of reading, sparking imagination, and supporting early childhood development. With Lion & Bear, you can trust that your little one will receive high-quality, age-appropriate stories that inspire joy and create lasting family memories.

Subscriptions start at $36.99, and they currently ship to Canada.

Unboxing Lion & Bear 2025

It was such a delight when these packages arrived on my doorstep! Unfortunately, the outer packaging got a bit destroyed by the United States Postal Service which is why I don’t have a picture to show you – because they replaced the packaging with a plastic USPS bag. But, not to worry, because the books inside were perfectly untouched!

Just as we shared in the description above, Lion & Bear has two subscription plans for kids based on their ages. In this review, we’ll be reviewing both age ranges to give you a good feel for what you can expect with each delivery.

Inside each mailer, there were two books.  Here’s a closer look at what was inside The Wonderer subscription for 0-2 year olds:

Whale by Maggie Li

This is an adorable board book all about the life cycle of whales! It talks about how when a whale is b0rn is must learn to swim, eat, breathe, and talk to other whales.

It has cut outs int he book to help illustrate the whale’s journey as it transforms into the biggest animal int he world! Here’s a peek inside:

Little ones will love the tactile element of this book and tracing the baby whale with their fingers.

The pages are beautifully illustrated with simple language that’s perfect for toddlers.

Cookies: An Interactive Recipe Book 

This is one of the most fun books for little ones that I’ve ever seen!  It’s an interactive “cook in a book” experience – where kids can feel like they’re actually making cookies!

Each page has an interactive element that goes along with baking cookies.  For example, on this page, we pour the flour and sift the dry ingredients into a bowl. Kids can slide the sifter and the flour sprinkles appear!

On this page, they “mix” everything together with an interactive slider!

Every page has some kind of interactive activity or tactile experience.  It’s so cute!  Finally, they can “bake” the cookies by putting them in the oven!

For the older kiddos, they get The Explorer subscription (seriously, how cute are these names?). This one is perfect for 3-5 5-year-olds.  Here’s a peek at what we received:

Round and Round the Year We Go by Carter Higgins

This is such a vibrant, fun book! It explores each month of the year and all the fun that awaits in each season. It’s whimsical, engaging, and beautifully illustrated.

Here’s a look inside:

Each month shares a few fun things to look forward to, to try, or to celebrate.  The illustrations are bold and unique, and I love how creative they are!

I can imagine little readers anxiously looking for the month of their birthday and getting excited for what those pages represent for them!

I couldn’t resist sharing this sweet description from the back of the book as well – it captures the pages perfectly!

Thank You by Jarvis

“From the moon that brings the nighttime to the sun that brings the day, from clouds that bring puddles to boots that somehow know the way. At the end of your busy day, who or what would you say thank you to?”

This book is a celebration of gratitude!  It invites little readers to express thanks for all the things that bring them joy. I just loved this opening page with thank you displayed in all the different languages of the world!  How cool is that?

Each page guides children through sweet and silly things to say thank you for, such as the itch for the scratch and Mister Jeffers for the purrs.

Each page is filled with unique ideas to help children see the depth of gratitude and how it extends far beyond what we may initially think.

“I thank the moon for the nighttime. I thank the sun for the day. I thank my boots for knowing the way…”

Lion & Bear Final Thoughts

I was genuinely impressed by the Lion & Bear book subscription. The books in both age groups felt high quality, thoughtfully chosen, and truly aligned with where kids are developmentally—something that’s not always easy to get right. It’s clear that a lot of care goes into each box, from the beautiful illustrations to the engaging stories that create special moments for connection. I particularly loved the interactive elements of the Wonderer book selections.

Whether you’re hoping to make storytime a little more magical or looking for a meaningful gift that keeps on giving, Lion & Bear delivers. It’s a high-value subscription that takes the guesswork out of finding great books and makes it easy to build a home library your little one will love. I can’t wait to see what’s in next month’s box!

-Jessica, AYOB