(2) PS A black bear is "quietly walking along, just being a bear." When Bear encounters a fuzzy brown bear, he is immediately wary, though the Other Bear is perfectly pleasant: "Just saying hello." Bear, less prickly now, decides to follow the Other Bear. The two come across a defensive panda: "What do you want from me?" Bear and the Other Bear wish Grunty Bear a good day and amble on; Grunty Bear ("looking a little embarrassed") joins them. A Very Big Bear tells the three to "go away...I don't know you"; they reply, "Okay then. Well, good to meet you." With each encounter, a surly newcomer is disarmed by the others' unflappable friendliness. Rayner's relaxed line work exudes calm confidence, and the initially antagonistic bears aren't threatening, just grumpy. The compositions focus on the characters, with little background detail and plenty of white space. After the group helps a growly polar bear stuck in a tree, the now Unstuck Bear (who's "never actually spoken to another bear") asks why they helped. "Some things are hard on your own." Unstuck Bear wonders why the "all very different" bears are together. The simple answer: "We all just like each other!" Sure, the message isn't subtle, but it's one worth sharing, and the gently humorous tone and lighthearted illustrations offer it in a winning package.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2024

(2) PS Three animal friends -- "Molly the hare, Olive the owl, and Dexter the fox" -- play a game that Olive calls "Guess What?" Dexter goes first: "Guess what I'm thinking about," he says, gazing at the sky. Molly guesses correctly on the first try; it's the sky, of course. "'How did you know?' asks Dexter, puzzled." Molly's up next, and Olive guesses that she's thinking about grass. How did Olive know? "Easy...your mouth is full of it." For her turn, Olive is "thinking about TWO things at the same time." Dexter and Molly are stumped. Is Olive thinking about two brown leaves? Two clouds? Two flowers? "It's too hard." Olive encourages her friends to keep guessing; the two things she's thinking of are "very nearby" and "even lovelier than flowers." Rayner's soft mixed-media illustrations on cream-colored pages match the text's gentle tone and give young listeners the advantage by making obvious what -- or who -- is on Olive's mind. With its peaceful meadow setting and the friends' warm rapport, this good-natured picture book offers a pleasing storytime diversion.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2024

(3) PS When Abigail, a giraffe whose favorite thing is counting, invites Zebra and Cheetah to count a field of flowers with her, she discovers they don't know how ("One...two...six...lots!"). It takes all day to teach them, and by then it's dark. What will the three friends count now? Charming and energetic watercolor illustrations give Abigail and her pals lots of personality.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(2) PS A quiet morning on the river is disrupted by exuberant Solomon Crocodile. The other animals don't hold back their irritation; he's rebuffed by the frogs, dragonflies, and hippo: "GO AWAY! YOU'RE NOTHING BUT TROUBLE!" In Rayner's lush illustrations, the peaceful riverbank scenes barely contain mischievous Solomon. The well-paced story will draw in little troublemakers who will cheer for Solomon's eventual triumph.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2011

(3) K-3 Bear Norris knows that good things--like delicious "plorringes"--come to those who wait, but Tulip and Violet also want a taste of the just-ripened fruit. Norris is as generous as he is patient, and the three become fast friends. Rayner's illustrations bolster the spare text; energetic lines and blocks of luminous color surrounded by white space allow for great expressiveness and use of perspective.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher

(3) K-3 "Rather large moose" Ernest is too big for this book. After various attempts to "shimmy, shift, and shuffle" himself in, his chipmunk friend cobbles a "rather large book" in which he can fit. The self-aware story line is virtually identical to Mo Willems's Big Frog Can't Fit In, but Rayner's multimedia art, full of vibrancy, is the bigger draw anyway.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher

(4) K-3 Harris, a young hare, wonders why his feet are so enormous. With gentle guidance, Harris's wise grandad helps him discover that the biggest feet can hop the highest, climb the farthest, and run the fastest. Spare (and occasionally sentimental) text coupled with unassuming watercolor and ink illustrations underscore the legacy of knowledge and the message of finding one's own way.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden