My Bear Griz

PreS-Gr 1—There is no actual story line here; instead, the book is a catalogue of experiences a boy shares with an enormous grizzly bear. Billy and Griz enjoy peanut butter and honey sandwiches, play hide-and-seek, look at the stars together, etc. At the end it is revealed that Griz is actually a teddy bear. While there are many stories about children becoming attached to stuffed toys, there is something a little uncomfortable about Billy's isolation here, as he says "Griz is my best friend" and there is no interaction with anyone else. The illustrations, done in biro (ballpoint pen) and watercolor, are heavily textured, and in the case of the bear even tactile, but there is an oddly vacant expression in both the boy's and the bear's eyes. Martha Alexander's "Blackboard Bear" stories (Candlewick) deal with a similar case of imagination providing a companion, but there is a wider range of interaction with the actual world and other people.—Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ