Opening Up: A Visitor for Bear by Bonnie Becker

No one ever came to Bear's House. It had always been that way, and Bear was quite sure he didn't like visitors. He even had a sign:

NO VISITORS ALLOWED.

Bonnie Becker's Bear in her new A Visitor for Bear is the poster child for solitary, set-in-their-ways old bachelor bears. Bear is tediously fond of his fusty daily routines, and on one cool autumn morning, as he happily contemplates his breakfast ritual, he is interrupted by the unwelcome sound of tap-tap-tapping at the door and a small, and gray and bright-eyed mouse outside. "Go away," Bear said, pointing to the sign.

Back in the kitchen, Bear resolutely gets with his program again.

He set out one cup and a spoon. But when he opened the cupboard to get one bowl, there was a mouse, small and gray and bright-eyed. "I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE!" said Bear.

"Perhaps we could have just a spot of tea!" ventures the mouse.

"OUT!" bellows Bear.

"Most sorry," said Mouse. "I will be going now."

Bear goes back to assembling his meal, but when he opens the bread drawer to get out one slice for his toast, there is Mouse, bright-eyed as usual. "Unbelievable," said Bear. "AWAY with you! VAMOOSE!" "Yes, thank you. Here I go!" responds Mouse agreeably.

Bear trudges around his cottage, locking the doors and windows. Then, certain that there will be no more visitations, he opens his fridge to get out one egg, only to find the mouse inside. "A crackling fire?" suggests the mouse politely. "Impossible, Intolerable, insufferable," Bear storms out. "Terribly sorry," Mouse apologizes. "Now you see me, now you don't."

Bear scurries around, boarding up windows, blocking the chimney, and even stoppering the bathtub drain. At last he returns to his woefully delayed breakfast, checking the cupboard, bread drawer, and fridge first. "Mousefree. Yes, indeed." Bear exults and at last lifts the lid to his teakettle.

And there was the mouse, small, and gray, and, well, you know the rest. Bear fell to the floor and wept.

"I give up. You win. I am undone."

"So sorry," said the mouse, "but perhaps if I could just have a bit of cheese and a cup of tea--and do you think we could unstop the chimney and have a nice fire?"

Some friendships, it seems, are just meant to be. As the two warm before the fire and sip their tea in amiable quiet, Bear realizes that he is enjoying the company. "The fire is nice," said Bear. After a bit he adds, "I can do a headstand." "Very impressive," says Mouse attentively.

His cup empty, Mouse keeps his part of the deal and prepares to be on his way. Surprised at himself, Bear pleads,

"Don't go! That sign is for salesmen, NOT FRIENDS. "One lump or two?"

"TWO," says Mouse.

And two it is from here on for this delightful odd couple. Kady MacDonald Denton's soft ink, watercolor, and gouache illustrations gently but tellingly delineate these two diverse characters, as Bear's bulky body language subtly reveals his change of heart toward his unlikely new companion, and along with Becker's just-right text, A Visitor for Bear introduces a brand-new pair of memorable picture-book friends.

NO BIRTHDAYS! A Birthday for Bear by Bonnie Becker

Whish. Whish. Whish. Bear swept the floor. He was very, very busy today.

Bear was always very busy on his birthday.

He opened the door to shake out his broom and there was Mouse--small and gray and bright-eyed.

"Happy birthday, Bear!" cried Mouse.

"It's not my birthday," lied Bear.

"But it says so right here!" said Mouse, waving a party invitation.

"This is your handwriting!" protested Bear. "YOU wrote it!":

Mouse hung his head. "Shameful trickery," he confessed. "Terribly sorry. But perhaps we could have just a little party?"

"I DO NOT LIKE PARTIES. I DO NOT LIKE BIRTHDAYS. AND I ESPECIALLY DO NOT LIKE BIRTHDAY PARTIES FOR ME AT MY HOUSE," Bear announced, and he swept Mouse out the door.

Who doesn't like birthdays? Well, apparently that curmudgeonly, persnickety bachelor bear beguiled into friendship by the ever-cheery Mouse in Bonnie Becker's multiple prize-winning A Visitor for Bear.

This time Mouse is back, still small, gray, bright-eyed...and determined to interrupt the drudgeful Bear with some diversion, this time his own birthday! Mouse subsequently appears at the back door, disguised as a deliveryman bearing three birthday balloons, only to be turned away. ("But surely you would like just one balloon? It bats about nicely.") He appears at Bear's window as a minuscule postman bearing a birthday card, only to have the window slammed shut by the unwilling birthday bear. Undaunted, Mouse drops down the chimney upon the hearth, costumed as a tiny Santa Claus bearing a large gift box.

"Ho, Ho, Ho!" cried the little Santa Claus. "A Christmas gift for Bear!"

Christmas already? thought Bear. "Wait a minute! It's not Christmas! It's my birthday."

"You said it wasn't your birthday!" The little Santa looked very pleased with himself.

But Bear again roars out his disapproval of all things birthday, and Mouse sadly departs the now squeaky clean premises, dragging his rejected gift by its bow. It seems there will be no birthday for Bear.

But of course, Bear has second thoughts. No one has ever given him a birthday present. And then there is a Ding-Dong at the front door. Sure it is Mouse in another guise, Bear throws the door open abruptly, only to find a pink box on his doorstep.

"You don't fool me, Mouse! I know you're in there," Bear cried, springing open the lid of the box.

But inside was just a cake. A big cake, with chocolate sprinkles and the words Happy Birthday, Bear in chocolate icing.

"I do not like birthday cake, either!" Bear announced loudly so that Mouse would hear.

But Bear cannot resist taking the cake inside and steathily scooping up a big pawful of fluffy chocolate frosting.

Out of the cake popped Mouse! Small and gray and bright-eyed.

"A-haaa!" cried Mouse. "You do like birthday cake!"

As before, the sociable Mouse prevails, and a happy birthday celebration ensues, with a grateful roller-skating Bear and bright-eyed and satisfied friend finishing every crumb of Mouse's homemade chocolate cake.

Like its predecessor, author Bonny Becker and artist Kady McDonald Denton have another read-aloud winner in their just published A Birthday for Bear (Candlewick, 2009). Listening and early reading kids will eat this one up as happily as Bear and Mouse finish off their cake and will definitely be asking for more Bear and Mouse books.

Delish storytelling--at its best!

Nighty-Night: A Bedtime for Bear by Bonnie Becker

Everything had to be just so for Bear's bedtime.

The glass of water had to sit on the exact right spot on his nightstand.

His favorite pillow must be nicely fluffed.

The nightcap needed to be snug.

Most of all it had to be quiet--very, VERY quiet.

Bear is clearly set for a quiet evening. Slippers on feet, feet on footstool, an afghan across his legs, and a book balanced on his ample belly, Bear is seated in his easy chair before his cheery fire, ready for a cozy read.

TAP. TAP. TAP. TAP.

Bear glares in the direction of the offending door knocker. A visitor? Visitors usually mean mess and noise! Who could it be?

Well, who else on his doorstep but a mouse, small and gray and bright-eyed--with his little red valise, obviously anticipating a sleepover.

Bother! Was it tonight he invited Mouse to sleep over? But then Mouse did remember his birthday, so perhaps he is right. Tonight is the night.

Bear settles down with Mouse to a companionable game of checkers and after sharing mugs of warm cocoa, it’s time for the sleep-over friends to turn in. Bear prepares Mouse a comfy bed, pulling out the top drawer of his bedside table and providing a pillow and a blue blanket. Then he lays down the ground rules:

“REMEMBER, I MUST HAVE ABSOLUTE QUIET,” reminded Bear.

But Mouse can’t quite meet Bear’s standards.

“Bristle, Bristle, Bristle,” goes mouse’s little toothbrush. “Hmmm, hum-pa, pummmm,” he hums as he pulls on his nightshirt. “ ”Good night,” he calls, just as Bear has decided it’s safe to close his eyes..

“MY EARS ARE VERY SENSITIVE!” cried Bear.

“Really. How interesting!” said Mouse..... Mouse slipped from his bed, went into the closet, and said in the tiniest possible voice into the farthest, darkest teeniest possible corner of the closet...

“Surely you can’t . . .

“WILL THIS TORMENT NEVER CEASE!" roared Bear. “SILENCE”

“Sorry, Bear. Good night.” whispered Mouse.

At last it’s quiet enough for Bear to sleep. But he can’t. There are strange noises in his bedroom, rustly, low moany noises. “I know it’s YOU, Mouse,” he says softly, but Mouse is deep in dreamland. There's that sound again. At last Bear can’t bear his fears alone.

“WAKE UP, MOUSE!”

As always, Mouse knows just what to do to calm Bear's anxiety. Pretending to be frightened himself, he peers under the bed and under the curtains, and at last asks Bear to tell him a soothng bedtime story that finally sends both of them off to dreamland.

Ably assisted by Kady MacDonald Denton's cozy watercolor and gouache illustrations, Bonny Becker’s latest Bear and Mouse story, A Bedtime for Bear (Bear and Mouse) (Candlewick, 2010, with its quiet, wry humor and subtle interplay between this odd couple of two very different friends, is a gentle joy.

Bear and Mouse, best friends forever!

Afternoon Angling: Bear and Hare Go Fishing by Emily Gravett

BEAR AND HARE ARE GOING FISHING.
BEAR LOVES FISHING.

Hare? Maybe not so much, as he gives a can of wiggly worms a fishy look.

But Bear presents him with a fitting fishing hat, complete with the traditionally fashionable fishing flies around the crown. There is only one rod, which Bear gaily shoulders and sets of with his fish line trailing right off the page.

Hare, however, is left to schlep the rest of the gear--a net, tackle box, and the picnic basket.

Finally Bear reaches his favorite bank of the lake and rares back for a big cast, hooking Hare's hat on the backlash. Not a fortuitous way to start a fishing expedition.

And Bear's luck is all bad. He snags an indignant frog. Hare busies himself by arranging the gear on the grass and laying out their repast, including a large pink-frosted cake. Now he's bored.

But not for long. Bear hooks something big that bends his rod way down. With an impressive yank, Bear hauls up his catch--a roller skate which lands--right in the mddle of Hare's pink cake.

Things are not going swimmingly. Bear grows bored and begins to nod off. Hare fiddles with some flowers, and tentatively begins a daisy chain to pass the time. Bear dozes off, and Hare's chain grows longer and longer, trailing right into the pond....

And when a giant goldfish decides to sample the dangling daisies, Bear's fishing fortunes change with a splash-bang in Emily Gravett's Bear & Hare Go Fishing (Simon and Schuster, 2015). Gravett wryly portrays the differences in personality in this odd couple of friends and slyly foreshadows the sudden BIG catch in charming illustrations which will draw young readers back to earlier pages for further close examination.

The illustrator's shaggy Bear closely resembles her character in her earlier hit, Orange Pear Apple Bear (Classic Board Books) and bears a beary close resemblance to Bonnie Becker's grumpy bear in A Visitor for Bear (Bear and Mouse), another story of unlikely friendship, with a nod to Lobel's classic couple of friends, in Frog and Toad Are Friends. Gravett's illustrator honors include Britain's Kate Greenaway Prize, the parallel of our Caldecott Award, for her flat-out funny Wolves. Even the copyright page shows off Gravett's creative chops, with the publishing information in very fine print forming the line trailing from Bear's fishing rod.

Emily Gravett is an extraordinarily gifted author-illustrator, and Bear and Hare are a pair made in storybook heaven!

Says School Library Journal, "... Surprisingly simple at first glance, this title is filled to the gills with charm and cleverness."

Sleep-In: Sleepover with Beatrice and Bear by Monica Carnesi

Bea and Bear met in the spring.

Checking on her seedling carrots, Beatrice Bunny is perturbed to find a large-bottomed bear sitting in the middle of her garden. Getting Bear off her crop requires that Bea be a bit pushy, but soon their friendship gets off the ground, and Bea and Bear become buddies.

During the rest of spring, all of summer, and the early fall, Beatrice and Bear are always together. But then...

... one day Beatrice couldn't find Bear.

"Bear is gone to hibernate," explained the squirrel.

Where is that? Bea wonders, consulting her map. So the squirrel patiently explains that bears sleep in the winter.

"Like a sleepover?" Beatrice bubbles.

Beatrice Bunny packs her overnight bag, heads off to join Bear in his den, and announces her intentions.

"Bunnies are great hibernators!"

All goes well through the hibernation preparation process, with Bea reading stories and serving up cups of warm milk. Bear loves the hibernation party so far. Sleepily, he settles down for a long winter's nap.

"Honey dreams, Beatrice!"

Bear snores on, but Beatrice can't seem to handle the actual hibernating part of the party. She snuggles under her carrot blanket, tries a sleep mask, re-reads all her bedtime stories, and wills herself to fall asleep. But Beatrice has got nothing! Maybe bunnies just aren't cut out to be hibernators after all.

Is winter without her buddy Bear a bust?

Bear is going to miss out on all the winter fun--sledding, skating, building snow bunnies and snow bears, tasting snowflakes and making snow angels. Beatrice Bunny is bummed.

Or not. If Beatrice can't share hibernation with Bear, maybe she can share her winter fun with him. Bea puts her energy and arts and crafts skills to work to make a scrapbook, and when Bear finally emerges in early spring, she has a wake-up gift--a book of her own Winter Delights--waiting for him to share, in Monica Carnesi's brand-new Sleepover with Beatrice and Bear (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2014). It's a virtually vicarious seasonal experience, between the covers instead of under them, the next best thing to being there for Bear.

Carnesi's apt cartoon art, done in engaging black-line drawings with watercolor wash, establish the personalities of the three characters instantly. Plenty of visual humor and speech bubbles show off the strong bond between these somewhat mismatched buddies, with the easy-going theme that friendship can always find a way to keep in touch despite differences. Like that other odd couple, Bear and Mouse in Bonnie Becker's delightful best-selling series, begun with A Visitor for Bear (Bear and Mouse), Beatrice and Bear are the sort of picture book friends that deserve another outing together. "Sure to be a hit in every library!" says School Library Journal in its starred review.

Hibernation Helper: A Bed for Bear by Clive McFarland

IT WAS ALMOST WINTER, AND BERNARD WAS GETTING SLEEPY.

THERE WAS JUST ONE PROBLEM.

HOW COULD BERNARD POSSIBLY BE EXPECTED TO SLEEP IN THE BEAR CAVE?

IT WAS TOO NOISY AND TOO CROWDED.

Mom and the other cubs were already denning down, but Bernard, apparently a picky sleeper, picks up his pillow and heads out to find a better crib in which to crash!

Frog reports that his pad is possibly available, but when Bernard tries to hop onto one of the lily pads by the shore, he finds that a lake bed is WET!

There's a beehive, but it's obviously too busy and buzzy, and he accepts Bird's offer to try out his nest. Bernard makes a mess of it, while deciding it's too windy for sleeping up there. He nearly wrecks Rabbit's burrow, only to discover that it only accommodates his upper half. Hedgehog is no help, since he sleeps rough in the rain, and when Bernard beds down in Badger's sett, he promptly gets a firm eviction notice.

Then Mouse, who's been watching at a discrete distance all along, finally comes forth with a suggestion. Bernard is ready to accept any assistance at this point, and Mouse leads him back the way he came, to a familiar-looking cave. And by this time, his eyes barely half open, Bernard sees his mom's den in a new light, in Clive McFarland's humorous look at hibernation, A Bed for Bear (Harper, 2014). McFarland's narration and illustrative style has the dry, deadpan humor of Bonnie Becker's delightful A Visitor for Bear (Bear and Mouse). McFarland's artistic style is quite different, being stylized and digitally enhanced, but offers the same wry approach that charms the reader. And as a bedtime story, this one has the advantage of easing the listener closer and closer to that good nighty-night.

Go To Sleep, Okay? Goodnight Already!" by Jory John

"I'VE NEVER BEEN SO AWAKE!"

Duck has just polished off a mug of strong coffee while reading his book, 101 Ways to Stay Awake, and he's wired.

"I WONDER WHAT BEAR IS DOING?"

Well, Bear has just announced that he's never been so tired and could sleep for weeks. A big grouchy bear ready for hibernation is not exactly ready to party all night!

Duck is insistent.

"WANT TO HANG OUT? WANT TO PLAY CARDS? WATCH MOVIES? DRINK SMOOTHIES?"

"NO!" SAYS BEAR.

Fine! Feeling dissed, Duck stomps out. Bear yawns and with his pink Teddy crawls into his tempting bed, just as Duck goes Pssst! at his window, offering to bake cookies. Bear repeats his message, but Duck is soon back, asking to borrow all the ingredients for the cookies. Bear sends him away, but Duck is soon back, whinging about stubbing his beak.

Bear gets downright scary.

"GOODNIGHT ALREADY!"

Sheesh! What a grumpus! mutters Duck, but he finally calls it a night.

But now Bear has another problem.

"I'VE NEVER BEEN SO AWAKE!"

Jory John's brand-new Goodnight Already! (Harper, 2015) is unashamedly a picture-book takeoff on the plots of vintage cartoons--Tom and Jerry, Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, and the rest of those iconic "wascally wabbit" types. Duck is determined to keep Bear awake, with comic results, in this delightfully designed cinematographic story book. John's Bear is the perfect curmudgeonly type, and Duck the devilishly obdurate pest who keeps appearing at the door. Young readers who are fans of Jackie Urbanic's hilarious Duck at the Door and its several sequels (see reviews here) and Bonnie Becker's beloved A Visitor for Bear (Bear and Mouse), A Bedtime for Bear (Bear and Mouse), and sequels (see reviews here) will find this one a fine piece of bedtime-denier fare.

Friends 4-Ever? The Party and Other Stories (Fox and Chick) by Sergio Ruzzier

Fox is happily harvesting his garden, thoughts of a hearty homemade soup ahead, when Chick appears, ready, as ever, to opine.

"Foxes are supposed to eat field mice, not carrots!"

"I don't like to eat field mice," Fox answers amiably.

Fox moves on to his onion and potato patch. Chick persists in his lecture, remarking pointedly that foxes are supposed to eat frogs and moles, not onions and potatoes, and adds grasshoppers, chipmunks, squirrels, lizards, and little birds to his list of appropriate foxy foods. Fox looks lustily at Chick with an appropriately toothy grin.

"Little birds??"

Ooops! Chick makes himself suddenly scarce, as Fox exits, chuckling slyly, page right, with his veggies in his basket.

In the title story, "The Party," Fox is reading happily inside his cozy cottage when Chick knocks loudly, asking to use his bathroom. Fox politely shows him to the proper door and is soon lost again in his book. Much later he notices that hours have passed and after inquiring politely he opens the door, finding the window open (and broken) and Chick hosting a riotous pool party in his bathtub for some invading frogs, mice, a duck or two, and a mole. Fox indignantly shows the invaders to the front door.

"I guess he didn't mean it when he said I could use his bathroom," Chick complains.

In his latest about his unlikely pair, Fox and Chick: The Party: and Other Stories (Chronicle Books, 2018), this inspired installment in his series about that odd couple of frienemies hits all the marks for beginning readers. Ruzzier brings back his unlikely duo, the patient, no-drama, straight man Fox, the foil for his thoughtless and downright goofy neighbor Chick. Ruzzier perfectly captures the trope of the patient, long-suffering friend and his persistent preschooler-ish partner, delineated so well in Arnold Lobel's Frog and Toad easy readers and Bonnie Becker's A Visitor for Bear (Bear and Mouse) and sequels. Artist Ruzzier's graphic skills are evident in his minimalist drawings, in which a few deft lines impart expression flawlessly. Despite Fox's understated, stoical reserve set against Chick's loopy just-hatched cluelessness, Ruzzier's narration has an easy, wry sophistication, abetted by his comic book-styled framed illustrations which pace the story for maximum giggle quotients, great for read-alouds or for early readers alike.