School Library Journal Review

PreS-K-It's spring and Albert the bear is awake and heading to his favorite place-his tree. Albert splays out on a branch but hears a strange noise coming from the tree, so he, along with his animal friends, must investigate. Their conclusion: the tree is crying. Bear and the animals grow increasingly frustrated as their attempts at cheering up the tree fail and the wailing continues. When Bear decides to give his tree a hug, he finds out the voice belongs to baby Owl who is afraid of the "monster." When baby owl peeks out, both parties are surprised: Bear is not a monster and the tree's voice belongs to an Owl! The pair end up as fast friends. The primarily green and brown palette of the illustrations stands out against mostly white backgrounds. Hand-lettered comments from the animal friends lend humor to the story. VERDICT An ideal read-aloud for a storytime about bears or trees, or enjoyed one-on-one. A sweet addition for most collections.-Ramarie Beaver, Plano Public Library System, TX © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.