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Cheery persistence wears down a curmudgeonly bear in a wry comedy of manners that ends in a most unlikely friendship.
Bear is quite sure he doesn’t like visitors. He even has a sign. So when a mouse taps on his door one day, Bear tells him to leave. But when Bear goes to the cupboard to get a bowl, there is the mouse — small and gray and bright-eyed. In this slapstick tale that begs to be read aloud, all Bear wants is to eat his breakfast in peace, but the mouse — who keeps popping up in the most unexpected places — just won’t go away!
PreS-Gr 2- When a friendly mouse knocks at his door, Bear sternly points to the "No Visitors Allowed" sign. Returning to his breakfast preparations, he opens the cupboard only to find the mouse tucked inside a bowl. "Perhaps we could have just a spot of tea," the ever-hopeful guest suggests, but he is again shown the door. Despite boarding the windows shut, stopping up the chimney, and plugging the bathtub drain, the persistent rodent keeps reappearing. Finally Bear admits defeat, "I am undone," and agrees to set out a snack. Much to his surprise, Bear enjoys the company and shares jokes and demonstrates a talent at headstands. The visit prompts him to reconsider his sign: "That's for salesmen. Not for friends." Denton's softly hued watercolor illustrations capture the humorous interplay between the unlikely companions. The fastidious, pot-bellied bear wears a tiny apron while the wee mouse with a big personality peeks out of such unlikely places as an egg carton. The lively repetition and superb pacing make this an ideal choice for storytime.-Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, Canada
Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Bonny Becker, author of a number of award-winning picture books and middle-grade novels, says that the persistent mouse featured in A VISITOR FOR BEAR just popped into her head one day and wouldn’t go away. Several other Bear and Mouse stories are in the works. Bonny Becker lives in Seattle.
Kady MacDonald Denton is the illustrator of TWO HOMES by Claire Masurel and A CHILD'S TREASURY OF NURSERY RHYMES. She lives in Ontario, Canada.
Overview
Cheery persistence wears down a curmudgeonly bear in a wry comedy of manners that ends in a most unlikely friendship.
Bear is quite sure he doesn’t like visitors. He even has a sign. So when a mouse taps on his door one day, Bear tells him to leave. But when Bear goes to the cupboard to get a bowl, there is the mouse — small and gray and bright-eyed. In this slapstick tale that begs to be read aloud, all Bear wants is to eat his breakfast in peace, but the mouse — who keeps popping up in the most unexpected places — just won’t go away!