How to be human A bear's guide

A sensible bear is having trouble doing bear things in the forest. He was once able to scratch his back on trees and catch fish, but as the city encroaches on his home, there are fewer trees and fewer fish to eat. And with all the noise, "you could forget about sleeping!" So the bear tries to be human instead. He becomes friends with a human girl who is fluent in bear. She teaches him the important stuff on how to be human. Like how to win a thumb war and how to dance. The relationship between bear and girl is sweetly comical, especially in Varma's earthy, cartoonish illustrations, which warmly depict the vibrant forest environment. But when they go to the city together, they both realize that the bear can't be comfortable there; the girl decides that she should instead learn how to be a bear, and what she learns changes how she sees the world forever. This sweet and charming story about friendship convincingly emphasizes the importance of being bear-y good stewards of nature.

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Ah, the idyllic life of a bear: scratching on trees, fishing in rivers, taking a snooze. But this particular bear is finding all his activities thwarted by human encroachment. Luckily, he stumbles across a girl dressed as some sort of scout, out with a group of similarly dressed children, who speaks bear and is willing to teach him the ropes of being human. But while he masters thumb wars, cooperation, and hide-and-seek, these skills fail to help him feel at home in the city, and the pair run back to the forest. The girl realizes that perhaps the bear has it backward, and she learns "the smell of a summer sky just before it rains" and other nature skills but especially the idea that the Earth is meant for sharing. Together with her scout group, they join with the bear to start working on a space for everyone to enjoy. And while each continues to be good at being their own species, they will always remain friends. Varma's adorable cartoon illustrations highlight the ursine-girl relationship while at the same time showing humans' lack of care for the natural world: tree stumps, garbage, loud traffic. The unnamed girl is tan-skinned with short dark hair; her friends are diverse. While backmatter might have been welcome, Kolinas gets her message across without it. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Perhaps the Earth would be better off if humans were more like animals. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.