The Bear Who Stared

PreS—Bear has a problem with staring. He first offends a family of ladybugs, then a mama bird and her babies, and even a badger. Bear rubs all these critters the wrong way, but his heart is in the right place. He is naturally curious, but instead of asking what they are doing, he just stares. The illustrations are fun and inviting, and the text is written in a style that will appeal to children. When Bear stares at a frog, Frog does the same thing back. "Not much fun being stared at, is it?" says the frog. "I suppose not," replies Bear. "It's just I don't know what to say to anyone, and before I've had a chance to think, it's too late." Bear soon has his lightbulb moment when staring into the pond. At first the reflection stares at him. But then the reflection smiles. The frog, who is sitting on a tree stump, says, "Sometimes a smile is all you need. I may have big, googly, starey eyes, but I also have the widest smile in the whole forest." Bear learns from this experience. The next day, when he sees the ladybug family, he smiles and says hello. Bear gets a much different reaction this time.