A Visitor for Bear

A Visitor for Bear. written by Bonny Becker. illustrated by Kady McDonald Denton. 52p. 2008. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

Author Website: www.bonnybecker.com

Illustrator Website: www.kadymacdonalddenton.ca

Medium: watercolor, gouache and ink

Awards and Honors: E.B. White Read Aloud Award, California Young Reader Medal Committee, Capitol Choices: Noteworthy Booksm Wanda Gág Book Award Honor Book, ALA Notable Children's Books, Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books - Bulletin Blue Ribbons, Junior Library Guild Selection 

Audience: 3 and up

Annotation:
Bear is perfectly happy spending time alone until a persistent Mouse appears one day at his door.

Personal Reaction:
Bear does not like visitors. Not that he's ever had one exactly (he has hanging on his door a huge "NO VISITORS ALLOWED" sign), but he is quite sure that he is perfectly happy alone. When a polite but persistent little mouse appears at his door one day and refuses to leave (to Bear's extreme annoyance), Bear begrudgingly lets him in for a cup of tea. The situation is tense at first, but as Bear and Mouse sit by the fire and begin chatting, Bear starts to realize that maybe he had been wrong about visitors all along.   

Bear is ponderously large, yet fastidious, with a comparatively miniscule apron tied around his middle. Mouse is tiny and unfailingly polite (I imagine him speaking with an English accent). Together they are quite a comedy duo, and A Visitor for Bear is funny in a gently slap-stick way that kids love. It's also exceptionally sweet- not the type of sacharine sweet that makes you say "aww"- but genuinely and quietly charming.

Kady MacDonald Denton's illustrations, executed in soft washes of watercolor and gouache, are wonderfully expressive. The postures, body language and facial expressions of Bear and Mouse skillfully convey a host of emotions and Bonny Becker's text and dialogue are pitch perfect, making A Visitor for Bear a great read aloud for children.