Where Bear?

A boy and a bear cub grow up together. Eventually the boy realises that his friend has become ‘just too big and bearish to be living in a house’. They set out together to find a suitable home for the bear. A dialogue in patterned text ensues with the boy suggesting various possibilities, to each of which the bear responds with an emphatic “NO”. They find the perfect place and the pair are happy in their own environment. The pictures show that they each make new friends but they always chat on the phone and continue to meet up together.

There is no adult intervention in their relationship throughout the story, which is wonderfully matter-of-fact about the situation of a boy and a bear sharing a home and the adventures they undergo. The illustrations are spare, simple and stylish, with each potential homeplace depicted using a different restricted colour palette.