THE BEST GIFT FOR BEAR

A tale about gifts, friends, and tasty treats.

Hedgehog bakes gingerbread cookie gifts for her friends: The mice’s cookies are shaped like snowflakes, the squirrels’ are shaped like trees, and the rabbits each get a specially decorated rabbit cookie. But what about Bear? Bear is a special friend, after all. When Hedgehog arrives back home after delivering gifts, she sees the frosted roof of her cottage and is inspired. In step-by-step illustrations, she creates a wonderful gingerbread house for Bear—one that’s even bigger than Hedgehog herself. The journey to deliver the finished house begins smoothly, but a whipping wind soon reduces the gift to crumbs. Bear rescues Hedgehog from the storm, and later, in the safety and warmth of home, Bear admits to making a mess of Hedgehog’s gift earlier in the day and notes that they were planning to try again tomorrow. Happily, this admission leads to the best gift of all. Recipes for spice-laced gingerbread cookies and honey frosting begin the book, and perhaps all those spices keep this simple story about friendship and holiday gift giving from becoming too saccharine. Hedgehog is adorable, wearing emerald-green earmuffs, baking up a storm, and snuggling in a teacup bed. A bright-red ribbon winds through the story, artfully separating flashbacks from the present, linking baking steps, and focusing attention on important images. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Sure to sweeten holiday traditions with the true spirit of friendship.