Bear and bird The stars and other stories

Bird and Bear welcome readers back into their cozy world with another four stories of their life as best friends in the woods. In the first entry, it appears their closeness may be in jeopardy over a spoon snafu, until a comedy of errors sees them happily reunited. There are other misunderstandings later on, like when Bear snarfs a cake that Bird meant as a surprise and has to improvise a recipe that will have young readers both giggling and grossed out, or when Bird promises Bear to stay put on a rock that turns out to be a wandering turtle. All the mix-ups are resolved with humor and understanding, and the delightful duo concludes the set of stories with a meditation on how perfect their life is . . . though they concede that it would be slightly more perfect with hot cocoa, unicycles, robots, and a host of other amusing additions. The charming stories share space with darling, softly textured illustrations, playful hand-scribbled notes, and whimsical details. A sweet and silly snapshot of enduring friendship.

Four heartwarming stories deepen the exploration of friendship introduced in Bear and Bird: The Picnic (2023). "Bestest" pals Bird and Bear have quarreled. Neither can remember why; both vaguely blame a spoon. Each sets out to find a replacement friend before inevitably reuniting, recognizing their affinities, and laughing at themselves. In "The Cake," Bear comes across a treat that doesn't belong to him and greedily inhales it. Remorseful, he bakes a replacement, adding ingredients (fish, flies, worms, etc.) to please every possible owner. The story closes by engaging readers: "Would you have tried a slice of Bear's cake?" Attempts to keep their promises accidentally lead to the two becoming separated in "The Rock." But not for long. In "The Stars," the two gaze up at the sky and decide everything is perfect. Almost. Both friends imagine add-ons, starting with cocoa (food figures in every story) and escalating to a pure fantasy that leads them to reaffirm their friendship. The book has occasional italics and small hand-lettering on signs, a few challenging words (coincidence, mechanical), and one unusual word (dung), but most of the text is easy to read, in clear type. These humorous, touching, imaginative stories are matched by illustrations with the same qualities. Naïve-looking, soft-colored flat backgrounds focus attention on the black-outlined animals, especially the textured, stuffy-like bear and simplified bluebird, both expressive and huggable. Friendship at its best. (Chapter book. 5-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.