![]() When Piggie cartwheels up to Gerald announcing that she has a surprise for him, Gerald is less than pleased to learn that the “surprise is a surprise.” Gerald pumps Piggie for information (it’s big, it’s pretty, and they can share it), but Piggie holds fast on this basic principle: Gerald will have to wait. Gerald the elephant learns a truth familiar to every preschooler-heck, every human: “Waiting is not easy!” Meanwhile, the energetic ink-and-watercolor illustrations brim with humor while firmly establishing Mouse and Bear as friends new readers will enjoy visiting time and again. The text is broken into four chapters, and it reads as a well-pitched combination of humorous dialogue and omniscient commentary. As in their earlier picture book, Mouse draws up on the sheer force of his cheery goodwill to chip away at Bear’s resolve, ultimately succeeding in forging a deeper bond between them. Undaunted, Mouse persists in showing up in a variety of disguises to deliver all sorts of goodies and gifts. At book’s opening, although Bear has accepted Mouse’s presence, he rejects all presents and denies Mouse’s efforts to celebrate his birthday. ![]() This time, however, the book is an early reader, welcoming new readers to independently encounter this odd couple’s deepening friendship. ![]() ![]() ![]() Fans of the 2008 picture book A Visitor for Bear will delight in this second offering from Becker and Denton about curmudgeonly Bear and his intrepidly friendly-not to mention “small and gray and bright-eyed”-visitor, Mouse. ![]()
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