My Friend Bear


Nothing grizzled about this tale; it's as black and brown as they come... 

THREE PROS
*Beary good rhyming throughout -- I especially liked the longer format Jez Alborough employed since it reads more naturally than a series of four-word phrases  
*Pleasing artwork that is made more powerful by the fact that the book's dimensions are larger than most
*As far as I can tell, kids my son's age don't fully get the benefits of friendship -- so I loved how plainly the message got spelled out at the end

THREE CONS 
*Why does so much of kidlit involve stories where children are roaming the wild without a guardian 
*On the off chance your child meets an apex predator in the woods, I'd hate to think that my endorsement of Alborough could lead to a much different conversation than the happy interaction we see here 
*Personal preference makes me yearn for a stuffed boy belonging to the bear thereby serving as a contrast to Eddie's teddy

ONE DAD'S OPINION
As you can see, my negatives are nothing more than space-fillers.  We all really enjoyed this one.  Maybe it was a page too long, but even that's probably a stretch.  If anything, the hardest part of recommending it is that MFB is now 15 years old and could be slightly tougher to find.  Nope, that's not true either.  What's that?  It's even available for under $10 (a real bargain in this day and age)?  Why are you still reading?  Click here to grab your copy today!  
    

BUY / Borrow / Donate / Destroy



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