School Library Journal Review

K-Gr 3-The winning stars of A Visitor for Bear (Candlewick, 2008) make a return engagement, this time in early-reader format. Grumpy old Bear is totally uninterested in celebrating his birthday, but his cheery friend Mouse doggedly dons several comical disguises to trick and cajole him into enjoying the festive trappings of a party invitation, balloons, and a present. It is all to no avail, until Mouse leaves a beautiful homemade cake on Bear's doorstep; it's hard for him to ignore his favorite flavor and the fact that no one has ever made him a cake before. Mouse, hiding in the cake, brings back the balloons, the party hats, and the gift, and Bear's birthday is celebrated, at last, in fine and joyful style. Whimsical full-color ink and watercolor illustrations hilariously depict the yin and yang of enormous, cantankerous Bear and tiny, merry Mouse. A sprinkling of colorful, out-of-the-ordinary vocabulary words and phrases adds welcome spice to the narrative. Fluent early readers will be pulled into this title by the appeal of its universal subject, entertaining characters, and the satisfying story with just the right amount of tension unfolding in four short chapters.-Kathleen Finn, St. Francis Xavier School, Winooski, VT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.