DUDE. BE NICE

A well-meaning but thoughtless bear tries his hand at helping others—with mixed results.

Dude, a cheerful, well-mannered blue bear, decides to spend the day being “EXTRA nice,” and, despite some trepidation from his pink penguin pal, Fizz (who “knows all about Dude and his plans”), he sets out to help all his friends. But things quickly go wrong. Attempting to pull lint off a panda’s sweater, Dude inadvertently unravels it. When he tries to put out what he thinks is a fire, Dude ends up dumping water on a birthday cake. Finally, Dude gifts Fizz some balloons, sending her floating away. The initially oblivious bear at last hears Fizz’s increasingly panicked cries (“Dude?” “Duuuuuuude?”) and rallies the surprisingly unruffled victims of his helping spree. After they rescue Fizz, Dude surveys the mess that has ensued and wonders if they should all help. Fizz agrees that helping is nice but adds that it’s important to ask if aid is wanted. While that takeaway is a crucial one—and one many youngsters struggle with—the tale’s execution is a bit lacking. The mild reactions of the aggrieved animals in MacNaughton’s bright, spare illustrations likely won’t register with kids, preventing them from fully grasping the story’s intent. And Bear’s attempt at helping an elephant deal with melty ice cream (by lying down and catching the drips in his mouth) doesn’t actually seem all that bad, further muddying the message.

An important lesson delivered with a few hiccups.