Bear’s Book by Claire Freedman and illustrated by  Alison Friend is a charming story about friendship. Bear faces a Problem: he has run out of books to read. Undaunted, he decides to write his own book! Bear gathers his materials. He has everything he needs except… a Big Idea and a clear Beginning, Middle and End to his story.

Bear postpones his project in favor of a good back scratch in the woods. There his friend mouse approaches Bear and asks for his help. Bear, being a great friend, naturally agrees to pitch in. He ends up helping a series of his animal friends each of whom has a unique problem.

His friends are grateful and Bear enjoys helping them out. However, his story remains unwritten. Bear returns home intent on completing it. As he recalls the details of his day’s adventures, he realizes that he has the perfect story to tell. He buckles down to create his book

At the end of the day, his friends visit bear with a thank you gift—a basket filled with fresh berries. Bear then shares his book with his friends. In a delightful and unexpected twist, a fold-out page opens to reveal Bear’s book that is based on the adventures the friends shared that day.

Young readers will easily discern the benefit of helping out their friends. They will also delight in the idea of creating their own books based on their individual adventures. This would be a great project for parent and child or as a classroom activity.

AQ Lens: One of the tasks which adopted children must handle is to organize the facts of their lives into a cohesive story. This book can spark a willingness to work on such a project. Kids can add extra details in the future. Illustrations can be drawn or photographs from their own life could be used. Even if kids are reluctant to actually create the book, parents can encourage a conversation that talks about the elements of the child’s story which they might want to describe.