Bear and Bird: The Adventure and Other Stories

Bird feels a flutter of jealousy when Bear is unduly entertained by the jocular Mole in Jarvis’s third set of stories about the endearing pair.

Usually, a new wonky stick for Bird’s collection would be exciting, but . . . not today. ＂Hmm,＂ said Bear. ＂Well, in that case, I think it’s time for . . . The Dance.＂

Bear and Bird are the best of friends. They don’t always understand each other, but both agree that all they want is to make the other happy. So when Bird is under the weather, Bear arrives with a backpack of goodies and his best rendition of The Dance to try to make her feel better. And when Bear and Bird hang out with Mole--who tells hilarious jokes!--Bird eventually realizes that she doesn’t need to compete for Bear’s attention, since there’s plenty of laughter to go around. Whether it’s a comedy of errors around a Do Not Go in the Hole sign or the discovery that doing nothing together is the true badge of friendship, Jarvis tempers the mix-ups and misunderstandings with a genuine warmth and affection in this quartet of stories starring a most charming pair.

Jarvis is the author-illustrator of two previous chapter books about Bear and Bird, The Picnic and Other Stories and The Stars and Other Stories. He also created Alan’s Big, Scary Teeth; Tropical Terry; Follow Me, Flo!; and The Boy with Flowers in His Hair, among other picture books, and is the illustrator of Pick a Pine Tree, Pick a Pumpkin, and Pick a Perfect Egg, all by Patricia Toht, as well as Oh, Are You Awake? by Bob Shea. An animator who has worked as a record jacket designer and an animation director, he lives in Manchester, England.