FOX FORGETS

In this typically spare outing, Bear worries when little Fox neglects to tell him that Goose’s absence is only temporary. Happily, the three splendid friends are reunited at the end.

Goose has to run an errand, but rather than letting Bear know that, Fox, distracted by an evidently bottomless satchel of toys, only wants to play. Fretting about Goose’s whereabouts, Bear is likewise distracted—until Fox, with an adorably guilty look, delivers the message at last. The single, short bits of dialogue on each spread are practically superfluous, as the characters’ placement in the minimally detailed scenes and Bear’s body language clearly reveal both plot and emotional arc. Bear greets Goose’s return with an exuberant embrace, and in the final scene, all three are piled in a group cuddle that both signals forgiveness for Fox and conveys mutual affection so intense that it spills out from the page to draw in young viewers.

Bear looks more than ever like a huggable bundle of shag in this gentle reminder that failures to communicate happen and are not of necessity punishable offenses.