Picture Book Sunday- Bears

Horáček, Petr. A Best Friend for Bear
April 7, 2022 by Walker Books
E ARC Provided by Young Adult Books Central

Black Bear would like to have a friend, so he goes out into the forest to try to find one. He meets Brown Bear, who is, coincidentally, trying to find a friend as well! The two decide to work together to find a friend, and search all over, to no avail. They eventually start a rousing game of hide and go seek, and take turns finding each other. When Brown Bear hides particularly well, Black Bear is disappointed. When Brown Bear surprises his seeker by greeting him from atop a branch in a tree, the two decide that perhaps friends are easier to find than they had hoped. After all, looking for a friend was much more fun with someone else.

The mixed media illustrations are very colorful, and the dark tones in the woods are particularly well rendered. There's something about the bears' faces that makes me think about a children's book from the 1960s, a Whitman's Tell A Tale story, about a boy going into the woods and befriending a bear who was perhaps imaginary, but I can't think of the title. There is definitely a familiar, feel good air to the illustration style!

Young readers will recognize that the bears are being a little bit silly, and should just be friends with each other, but watching them go about their quest is still a fun journey. The only thing that they missed doing was to have a picnic! Of course, today's children probably don't know that old song.

Learning how to find friends and to keep them is a developmental task that young children seem to struggle with, so this is a good book to encourage them to look around them at people they might already know, and perhaps make friends that are hiding in plain sight! Pair this with other titles that explore the vagaries of friendship like Martin and Aserr's How to Make a Friend, Bailey and Song's A Friend for Henry, Percival's Meesha Makes Friends, and Napoli and Stoop's Words to Make a Friend.

Shum, Benson. Imagine You and Me
January 23, 2024 by Dial Books

E ARC Provided by Young Adult Books Central

Parker and Randall are best friends, and spent countless hours together playing, building sandcastles, and exploring. When they come across a group of other bears, Randall is too shy to approach them, but Parker pushes him. Sadly, the bears can't see Parker. The group plays kickball, and Randall doesn't feel competent, but once again, Parker encourages him to participate, and the bears are supportive of his efforts. Soon, Parker is left behind on walks, riding the bus, and finds herself playing more and more on her own. Randall barely notices her absence, but eventually misses his friend. He revisits the beach, has an ice cream cone, and thinks about his friend. Parker comes to the beach, and the two build a sandcastle. They also meet a small bear who can see Parker, and the two enjoy each other's company. In the end, Randall goes off with his bigger bear friends while Parker plays with her new friend, but each of them has happy memories of the other to sustain them.

There are a lot of picture books about making friends or losing friends, as well as about imaginary friends, but this is rather different from those. I don't read a lot of picture books, but this seems to be an unusual book about outgrowing a friend. It's an important message, and works well along with other bittersweet books about relationships like Woodcock's Silver Linings, Salbury's The Best Friend in the Whole World, and the Davidsons' A Pocket Full of Sads.

Shum's artwork is bold and colorful, and Parker and Randall both have very expressive faces. I'm not sure how their eyeglasses stay on without a bridge over their noses, but the fact that they both have round, red rimmed frames reinforces the depths of their friendship.

This is a somewhat sad book, but losing friends who outgrow us, or whom we outgrow, is a part of life. There is acknowledgement of the sadness, but also a good example of remembering the good things about one's friend while enjoying new ones.

Turcotte, Roxane and Lucie, Crovatto (Illustrator). The Sun Never Hurries
July 23, 2024 by Pajama Press
ARC Provided by Young Adult Books Central

Charlie's Papa Joe has an hourglass, and he tells her he likes to remember that days are made up of small precious moments, just like the grains of sand. When Charlie is hungry, she asks if they can go to a restaurant, but instead, Papa Joe takes his time making a delicious soup. The two walk to the village instead of driving, and Charlie notices all of the flowers that they would have sped by in a vehicle. They have ice cream cones at a tiny ice cream shop run by Grandpa Joe's friend, who crafts her ice cream out of strawberries and patience. They go out to a small island in a boat that Grandpa rows, and find a swing that he made out of branches. As she asks her grandfather about whether or not they took their time during the day, he says it's important that they watch the sun set, because it is never in a hurry.

I'm not a fan of being busy, so I loved Grandpa Joe's philosophy, and the effective way that he is able to share it with his granddaughter. As the comedian Steven Wright said, “Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time.”! Charlie is very accepting of this new philosophy, and spends time looking at the falling leaves and the sun shining on the water.

The illustrations are rendered in bright but warm oranges and yellows, with accents of gray and green, and are very lovely. They add to the leisurely feel of the book; it's the literary equivalent of sitting outside with the sun shining on your face! I can see this being a favorite bedtime story, especially after busy days of running around.

I love the idea of slowing down and taking in all of the small and precious moments that make up an ordinary day. After reading this book, it would be a great activity to have children write a stories about some of the things that their families do that might not be hurried affairs. Slow the world down and savor this book, along with All Around Us by González and Garcia, On a Magical Do-Nothing Day by Alemagna, Tiny, Perfect Things by Clark and Kloepper, and Up The Mountain Path by Dubuc.