A SPLENDID FRIEND, INDEED

A more perfect union between giggle-inducing but reassuring images and a text of very few words is hard to conjure. The brilliant pastels open on a double-page spread of Goose trotting down a huge hairy mound, which turns out to be Bear, lying on his stomach with a book. “What are you doing? Are you reading?” asks Goose, perched on Bear’s head. “I like to read” says Goose, sitting directly in front of Bear’s book, and reading to him. Bear takes out his notebook and starts to write, and Goose wants Bear to see him write. Bear, visibly growing increasingly exasperated, is thinking now, and Goose notes that thinking makes him hungry and goes off to make a snack. He returns with a snack, a blanket and a note for Bear, who at this point is trying to hide behind his notebook. “You are my splendid friend,” reads Goose’s note, and Bear wipes away a tear and wraps Goose in a huge hug before the two sit down to share the snack. Bear’s ursine fuzziness against a background of deep blues and Goose’s small awkward, overeager self make an adorable contrast. (Picture book. 3-6)