Customer Reviews

A Birthday for Bear (Bear and Mouse)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I very much loved A Visitor for Bear, which deservedly received a fair amount of national attention (list of awards here) when it was published last year. This is a gem of a story that details how a mouse chock full of cheery persistence wears down a curmudgeonly bear. If this is the first you have heard of this comedic duo, listen to the story on NPR here.

When you find a book as delightful as this, it is always a thrill to hear of a sequel being released. I am tickled pink to see the ever grumpy bear and tenacious mouse make a reappearance. Mouse is delighted to help celebrate his friend's birthday, but Bear is much less enthusiastic - downright rude actually.

Mouse turns up bearing a nicely decorated card and Bear actually lies about it being his birthday! He tells Mouse in no uncertain terms that he does not like birthdays, he does not like birthday cards and he most certainly will NOT be having a birthday party! Then he unceremoniously sweeps him from the house. Bear thinks he has made himself quite clear, but we know how Mouse can be . . .

Sure enough, Mouse returns wearing his trademark grin, masquerading as a balloon bearing deliveryman, a posting with a birthday greeting and finally as Santa Claus carrying a very large package. Each time Bear is wise to his tricks, seeing through each disguise to boot Mouse from the house.

Bear is getting just a tiny bit worn down by Mouse's antics and begins to wonder what sort of present could be in that large box. Just then the doorbell rings, revealing one large chocolate cake. Bear glares and peeks into the bushes, but there is no Mouse in sight. As Bear swipes one sweet pawful of chocolate cake - TA-DA - Mouse erupts from the cake. Just as he sweet talked his way into this friendship in the first book, he persuades Bear to celebrate his birthday with a cake, balloons and a wonderful gift.

Mouse is very persistent and Bear is very resistant. The fun is what happens when they meet in the middle. I love watching these two face off - you can practically see the wheels turning in Mouse's head and the waves of frustration coming from Bear. This unlikely pair combine to become a huge hit which will have readers giggling out loud!

I really enjoyed this sequel, but since I was ordering it and not actually handling it in a bookstore, I didn't realize that the format is an early reader book with chapters. Not a big deal, since it's still a great read-aloud story, but I was buying it for a gift and probably would have chosen a different picture book if I had known!

What a delightful story with equally delightful illustrations! A Birthday for Bear is a wonderful story about a curmudgenly bear, reluctant to celebrate his birthday and his cheerful, devoted friend, Mouse, who will stop at nothing to celebrate his friend's birthday. The story is sweet and engages my preschooler on many levels. It invites discussions of what it means to be a friend, to give to other people and why our friends may feel differently than we do. We read the book often and it never ceases to delight.

This is the second book in this growing series by Ms. Becker & Ms. MacDonald Denton. The same two characters, (Grumpy) Bear and (Happy-Go-Lucky) Mouse return in their respective roles. This time, Mouse is trying to throw a party for Bear. As expected, Bear doesn't like birthday parties, especially his own. The story unfolds with Bear doing everything in his power to thwart Mouse's attempts to throw a party for Bear. Mouse is, as usual, ignoring Bear's protests, and does his usual bits to bring us a birthday party for Bear.
The story is cute. Maybe not as perfect as A Visitor for Bear, but still very good. Our 4.5 year old goes from loving these stories to not wanting to have anything to do with them. Maybe that's because he demanded I read these books to him every night for weeks and weeks when we first got each story.
What's nice is that despite being read over and over, the jokes still bring out laughs from both of us, and the illustrations are once again superb.
Highly recommend.

After the wildly entertaining smacktacular splash made by "A Visitor for Bear," Bonny Becker's follow up early reader, "A Birthday for Bear," does not disappoint. What can I say? It's a page by page delight to read. I shared it with a five-year-old who immediately needed it read three times--it's just so darn fun! Kids are going to love spotting Mouse in his disguises as he tries to deliver birthday surprises to Bear who, as usual, is being a bit difficult.

It would have been so easy for Bonny Becker to cash in on her success with "A Visitor for Bear" and phone this one in, but she did just the opposite. "A Birthday for Bear" leads picture book lovers into the early reader scene without a hitch. Kids can grow up and into the world of reading with these fabulous and familiar friends.

This is a great follow-up to A Visitor for Bear, but with a plot that's a bit more complex. A good buy!

Sometimes friendship finds its own way, despite built-in obstacles and those presented by the friends themselves. These two characters will make you wish you could slip into the pages and get to know them better. If you like grinning, if you like the feeling of a warm heart, you'll want to view and read about this delightful odd couple. Mouse and Bear, what a pair!

This one continues the adventures of bear and mouse, it works as an individual book too but it feels like it was written after a visitor for bear anyway.
Bear is as grumpy as before, but mouse is more daring and way funnier than before.
It is great book for young children, it holds a great lesson on how sometimes you have to try extra hard to reach others, the reward is in this case a friendship that continues to grow in between the characters. I would wish for the series to continue and show the evolution of the bond in between those two.
Highly recommended.

I love this book! We started reading this series when my grandson was two and A Birthday for Bear is the first chapter book now that he's 3 1/2. The chapters are just the right length and the characters have stayed true to their personalities and sweet, warm friendship. The surprise in the middle made me laugh out loud the first time I read through the story as it was timed to be unexpected. I can't wait for Bonny Becker to write the next adventure for Bear and Mouse. I'm a big fan.