BEAR

Holding in your feelings can have unintended consequences.

Bear chills alone on a bench surrounded by beloved possessions including a cookie, a book, and a balloon. Fox comes over and asks, “Can I sit here?” Bear internally recoils; our protagonist’s inexpressive gaze says it all, but aloud, Bear replies, “Oh, sure.” Bear’s reluctance is suggested by the use of a larger, exaggeratedly shaky, hand-drawn font, but Fox is unaware. Soon afterward, a menagerie arrives, asking for a bite of Bear’s cookie, to look at Bear’s book, and to hold Bear’s balloon. Each time, Bear responds yes through gritted teeth. As the bench becomes too crowded and Bear’s favorite activity—“sitting on my bench, all by myself”—becomes irritatingly untenable, Bear lets out a huge “AAAAARRRGH!,” and everyone scatters. Along the way, Bear’s annoyance is humorously captured in a series of increasingly tense and crowded spreads. Young readers (and many adults) will relate to the frustration of keeping one’s emotions in check and agreeing to things that they don’t want to do in the name of social politeness. Author/illustrator Shaloshvili’s deadpan conversational text and her acrylic and watercolor crayon illustrations, with their moody gray palette against a stark white background, set the right tone. Fans of Jon Klassen’s inscrutable Hat books will find much to love here.

A humorous look at having the confidence to say what you want to say in the moment.