Review: A visitor for Bear

A visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker, illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton

Bear is making his breakfast one morning when a mouse knocks at his door. Bear, however, does not like visitors and even has a sign on his door that states, loud and clear, "NO visitors allowed." The mouse is terribly persistent though, and manages to show up in the most unexpected of places until Bear caves and consents to share his tea and a crackling fire. Bear comes to realize how enjoyable a companion the mouse is, and that he has made a new friend.

This is an utterly charming and lovely book, and great to read aloud. The short politeness of mouse's lines just beg to be read in a British accent, and Bear certainly has thunderous tones when he is driven to the edge of sanity by the mouse's constant reappearance. The soft illustrations are evocative and the physicality of the two characters come out in spades: the mouse has excellent posture and you just know that Bear moves slowly. A must read.