Book Review: A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker

Book: A Visitor for Bear
Author: Bonny Becker
Illustrator: Kady MacDonald Denton
Published: 2008

Bear prefers to be alone. He has one plate, one cup, and one spoon, and that's the way he likes it. So he's less than welcoming when a mouse invites himself over for tea. But no matter how may times Bear ejects this importunate rodent, he keeps returning. In a battle of wills, who will come out the victor? I think you know.

For some reason, this feels like a very British book to me. Possibly it's the tea. Maybe it's the language--the mouse likes "a bit of tea" and Bear wails, "Begone!" How often do you get to shriek "Begone!" when reading a picture book? Good on you, Becker, for being fearless with the vocabulary.

Kids will get a kick out of poring over the watercolor illustrations as well. Bear and the mouse are both drawn with such expression that even without the text you know everything about them.

This book got a lot of love in the kidlitosphere, and it deserves every ounce.