Another Bear's Treasure: Thank You Bear by Greg Foley

In his just-published picture book Thank You Bear,Greg Foley's brief text and very evocative illustrations combine in a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.

The story begins with "Early one morning, a little bear found a little box." True friend Bear immediately thinks of Mouse and responds, "Why, it's the greatest thing ever. Mouse will love this." As Bear goes out to find Mouse, he meets a series of animals, all of whom, from Monkey, to Owl and Fox, poo-poo the value of his find. Elephant, of course, thinks it's too small; Squirrel covets the little box for himself; and Bunny can't even slow down to take a peek.

Bear becomes more crestfallen with each naysayer he meets, until he loses all confidence in the value of his gift. When Mouse appears, Bear can only offer the box wordlessly, but Mouse joyfully curls up inside and declares it "the greatest thing ever!"

In a few simple words and lightly washed line drawings, Foley says a lot about the empathy between true friends and about our own inability to see things through another's eyes. Children who sometimes have their stemless dandelions and "interesting" rocks given short shrift will understand Bear's happiness when Mouse says, "Thank you, Bear."