Bear and Bird: The Picnic and Other Stories

Bear and Bird are best friends. The most important thing for each of them is to see that the other is happy. Four stories make up this book as Bear and Bird find themselves in different situations that test their friendship with misunderstandings and problems.

In “The Flower,” Bird comes to get Bear and while waiting for him gets stuck in a flower. How can she get Bear to help her with her head stuck in the flower? In “The Picnic,” Bear doesn’t pack any of the things they need for the picnic, but being a good friend, Bird lets her friend find ways to make it a successful, fun day. “The Painting” shows Bear, a naturally good painter, finding things to admire about Bird’s painting, which is not so good. And, finally, “The Blanket” is a great lesson in how much more fun it can be to share than to keep something nice all to oneself.

Jarvis is both writer and illustrator of this sweet book. The stories are laugh-out-loud funny in places and tug at the heartstrings in others. The writing is perfect for emerging readers and the illustrations are cute and full of fun details.