It seems there will be no birthday for Bear.īut of course, Bear has second thoughts. 'You said it wasn't your birthday!' The little Santa looked very pleased with himself.īut Bear again roars out his disapproval of all things birthday, and Mouse sadly departs the now squeaky clean premises, dragging his rejected gift by its bow. 'Wait a minute! It's not Christmas! It's my birthday.' 'A Christmas gift for Bear!'Ĭhristmas already? thought Bear. 'Ho, Ho, Ho!' cried the little Santa Claus. Undaunted, Mouse drops down the chimney upon the hearth, costumed as a tiny Santa Claus bearing a large gift box. ('But surely you would like just one balloon? It bats about nicely.') He appears at Bear's window as a minuscule postman bearing a birthday card, only to have the window slammed shut by the unwilling birthday bear. This time Mouse is back, still small, gray, bright-eyed.and determined to interrupt the drudgeful Bear with some diversion, this time his own birthday! Mouse subsequently appears at the back door, disguised as a deliveryman bearing three birthday balloons, only to be turned away. Who doesn't like birthdays? Well, apparently that curmudgeonly, persnickety bachelor bear beguiled into friendship by the ever-cheery Mouse in Bonnie Becker's multiple prize-winning A Visitor for Bear. AND I ESPECIALLY DO NOT LIKE BIRTHDAY PARTIES FOR ME AT MY HOUSE,' Bear announced, and he swept Mouse out the door. But perhaps we could have just a little party?' 'This is your handwriting!' protested Bear. 'But it says so right here!' said Mouse, waving a party invitation. He opened the door to shake out his broom and there was Mouse-small and gray and bright-eyed.

He was very, very busy today.īear was always very busy on his birthday. Although not done in a comic book format, visually A Birthday for Bear has everything the marvelous TOON Books have to offer.Whish.

The illustrations are rich and detailed, worthy of any picture book, unlike most beginning to read books which tend to have very basic illustrations. There is the repetition of words and visual clues familiar to beginning to read books, but all of the books in the Candlewick Sparks series feel like something more. How he gets his way and how he makes Bear smile is guaranteed to make readers smile also. In A Birthday for Bear Mouse is back and looking for a party. However, this doesn't mean Bear is no longer a grump. When Mouse keeps his promise, Bear finds himself unwilling to let his visitor leave so quickly and a friendship is born. Popping up in the most surprising places, Mouse manages to wear Bear down, agreeing to leave as soon as he has had one cup. Mouse is cold and hungry and only wants a spot of tea. Bear is a solitary sort who does not want company. In A Visitor for Bear, the stage is set for the give and take that plays out again in A Birthday for Bear.

A birthday for bear by bonny becker