Review: Bear in Love

Bear lives by himself in a cave in the woods. One day when bear wakes up and walks outside he discovers a surprise waiting for him. The next morning there’s another one, and the morning after that, too. Crunchy things! Carrots actually, which might give you a clue as to who could have left them there.

Bear is delighted and touched that someone must like him. But he doesn’t know who it is. One day he follows some bees and discovers a tree filled with honey. Instead of eating it all himself, he decides to share it with his mystery friend and leaves some honeycomb on the rock where the carrots appear each morning.

He tries to stay awake so he can meet his friend, but falls asleep. The next morning there’s a flower on the rock where he’d left the honeycomb, and bear spends the day wondering who could be so kind. The next day he decides to try leaving blueberries instead. Then chocolate.

Will bear ever get to meet his mystery friend?

I was particularly drawn to the illustrations in Bear In Love, which bring additional personality to the story and its protagonist. Bear is a cute character whose attempts to find the stranger, and that stranger’s desire to be kind, send a gentle message in a sweetly-told package: being kind makes a difference, and everyone needs a friend!

Title: Bear In Love
Author: Daniel Pinkwater
Illustrator: Will Hillenbrand
Publisher: Walker Books, $16.95 RRP
Publication Date: January 2014
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781406345346
For ages: 3+
Type: Picture book