Surprise!

PreS-Gr 2—Bear, Raccoon, and Squirrel are bored. They decide to make new friends. When they see a family of city folk set up camp, they excitedly form a plan to throw a surprise welcome party. When the family leaves camp, the forest trio go through the campers' things to gather food, entertainment, and decorations. Bear decides something is missing so he sets off to get it. When the city folk return, they see their camp ransacked by a raccoon and a squirrel. There's one more surprise in store when Bear returns with party hats (pinecones tied on strings) for everyone. The campers scream in fright and drive off, much to the astonishment of the animals. Watercolor illustrations with gouache textures creatively mimic elements of childish crayon art in the plants and people, as well as in exclamatory text. The compact use of narrative moves the story along at a good pace and complement the busy illustrations full of foliage, food, and mayhem.