I absolutely love the Bear books by Karma Wilson. They are some of my favorites. (I am determined to try to get her again for our Children's Book Festival). This book is positively delightful.

Once again, there are the rhymes and the repetitive phrases, making this an excellent pick to do in storytime. However, the repetitive phrases do change a little bit with slight variations, thus allowing children to expand their vocabulary.

A beautiful fun story of friendship, excitement, patience, and a party! ( )

Bear has been planning a surprise for his friend Hare but he has a problem waiting to spring because he is so excited.

This cute little book reminds me of the Dr. Seuss books because of the rhyming writing. This would be a great story for young kids to help them learn patience. ( )

This is the second book in the Bear series, which I've had the chance to read, and I'm still a fan of this cute, big guy.

Bear is super excited and can barely contain himself. He has the best surprise ever ready for his friend Hare, but now, he has to wait until it's time for him to reveal it. But waiting is so hard, especially since Bear is sure Hare's going to love it. In his excitement, he starts to make a big mess of things...and maybe, the surprise won't be so great after all.

Written in rhyme, this is a sweet book about an even sweeter bear. Bear has a heart of gold, and while he does his best, things don't work out as perfectly as he hopes. I think one of my favorite things about Bear is that his troubles are ones everyone faces. Especially young readers and listeners will recognize the same issue in themselves and realize why Bear has the troubles he does. The solution is heart-warming and shows how important the help, care and love of others can be. It's exactly a message kids can relate to and learn from, while simply enjoying a lovely tale.

The illustrations are nicely down and bring Bear and his friends to life. Young listeners will easily be able to take the book on their own and revisit Bear and his adventure again and again. It's simply a lovely tale through and through.

I received an ARC and enjoyed it quite a bit. ( )