100 books like Little Bear's Friend

This feels like a fairy tale, of sorts. A curious feel to it. It is touching and evocative and strange - in that good and compelling way. Larky Mavis is somehow an endearing outcast in her small village. Is she a gypsy, is she homeless? The village sees her as socially unacceptable. Not “normal.” It would be interesting to hear the child reader’s take. I would guess a child would relate to Larky’s guilelessness - her open heart and her trust in others. Larky finds 3 peanuts. She does not eat the third one because she sees a baby inside. Perhaps a metaphor for seeing the potential in life if one’s heart is open enough. She shares her delightful discovery with others from town.

These individuals feel they are more the expert in knowing what is inside this peanut. One declares it a worm, another a mouse, another a deformed… show more.

Leon and his mom are new to town. His dad is in the army. Leon shares his new room with his imaginary friend, Bob. Their friendship is as important as it is real, to Leon. A tender and loving relationship. A boy moves in next door. Read the book to see how sweet this deceivingly simple story is. The words are sparse and well-chosen. The artwork is loose and expressive ink linework. Beautiful watercolor washes. The imaginary friend theme is treated in a fresh way. I am always touched by the portrayal of little boys’ natural sweetness - as they really are when allowed to be. 

This Is David Small’s very first book that he both wrote and illustrated. I came upon this book in my mid-twenties. I have cherished it ever since. Great artwork with a limited palette due to the archaic 4-color printing process used back then. With this book, it works! Beautiful artwork and humorous wording. Mother Lumps and her baby daughter, Eulalia, are frogs. A mother’s favorite thing happens - Mother Lumps encounters another mother claiming her children are perfect and, therefore, she is perfect as a mother. Grrrrr. Walking along, they encounter a doll left behind at a picnic. They think the doll is a real child. Mother Lumps sees her as abandoned and takes her home. It is so adorable how the story unfolds. I tear up every time. A lovely message is conveyed.

Ruby is new to school as she enters Miss Hart’s class. Ruby’s desk is right behind Angela’s. Angela seems to be a self-possessed, lovely young girl and, right away, Ruby is quite taken with Angela.  She wants to be her friend. Perhaps Ruby wants to be noticed and equally admired by this potential new friend, and so she imitates Angela in every way. It gets old fast. Miss Hart handles the situation admirably well, with utmost respect and sensitivity. (I wish I had encountered more teachers like that as a kid.)  Rathmann captures kids’ innocent foibles, well. The artwork is adorable and expressive and loose. Great humor. Full of humanity. 

Rylant is the true maestro of early readers, with her trademark blend of kid-friendly adventure, childhood truth, and humor. It’s hard to pick a favorite from her many offerings, but the Poppleton books—about an independent-minded pig with lots of plans—stand out for their appealing silliness and the bright, energetic pictures by Teague.  In this book, Poppleton embarks on a spring-cleaning project to clear out his overcrowded house but ends up finding a host of new treasures at the home of his llama friend, Cherry Sue. He has other schemes for enjoying the springtime—maybe he’ll go for a bike ride or camp out under the stars—but with Poppleton, you never know how these adventures will end up.

Mole and Mouse take their art supplies into the woods to make a book about birds, but they can never get close enough to their subjects to draw them. Since birds are not afraid of other birds, they decide to create feathered costumes for themselves and then build a nest to lure some winged company into drawing range. These stories about a warm, eccentric friendship between a mole and mouse, with charming pictures reminiscent of E.H. Shepard’s art in the Winne the Pooh books, are full of small surprises, just right for new readers.  

Boris is a mischievous, comical warthog, always up for adventure. In this first book of the series, Boris persuades his parents to take their old bus, which doubles as their home, out for a ride. He longs to explore faraway jungles and is sorely disappointed when the bus stops at a local park. But it turns out the park holds unexpected thrills – not to mention scares! — and Boris ends up with a new friend. These short chapter books are perfect for new readers: six or seven chapters with a single, suspenseful storyline, in an engaging graphic format that employs dialogue and thought balloons sparingly and effectively.

A boisterous dog named King is the narrator of this charming mystery series. He and his owner Kayla solve various puzzles: a missing ring, stolen treats, or in this case, a lost dog separated from his family. The books have an appealingly dog-like perspective, focused on smells, sounds, and food, with little sense of human concepts like time (e.g., King remarks that “nine or three days go by”). The straightforward mysteries have just the right complexity and drama for beginning readers.  

Before I was a published author, I had a critique with author Bonny Becker on one of my works-in-progress. She’s a generous writer who knows a lot about creating characters readers truly care about. I love her comedic writing style and this is one of my favorite books. I love the persistence of Mouse in winning over curmudgeonly Bear in this unlikely tale of friendship. If you like this book, check out the other adventures in the series.

We often fear change and it’s for this reason that we don’t dare try something new. We’re afraid we won’t be able to go back to the way things were before in case we don’t succeed. It’s important to realize that the people who truly appreciate and love us will always support our endeavors and welcome us back regardless of whether we succeeded or failed. The Bear and the Piano relates this message in a gentle and inspiring way for me.