The Picnic and Other Stories

March 15, 2023
Four slice-of-life stories starring best friends Bear and Bird. In the first--and slightly mean-spirited--tale, Bird sits on a flower, falls in, and get stuck. Bear hears the "flower" crying and decides to cheer it up by regaling it with stories of Bird's "silly" mistakes. Unsurprisingly, this fails to amuse Bird. Bear smells the flower, and his subsequent sneeze inadvertently frees Bird. He proceeds to show Bird the "talking flower," and, in a role reversal, Bird now deems Bear silly for believing a flower could speak. In the next story, Bear falsely claims that he has prepared for their picnic and then, to avoid getting caught lying, offers alternatives to all of the supplies he was supposed to bring, successfully escaping consequences--with a final reveal that Bird was aware but played oblivious to keep Bear happy. Next, Bird is jealous of Bear's painting talent, so Bear cheers her up by lying about liking Bird's artwork (which backfires when Bird makes Bear's house a ton of paintings). In the final story, jealous Bird frets that Bear seems to prefer a new friend--but in fact he's just been spending time snuggling with his beloved blanket. The art--digitally rendered thick-lined watercolorlike images on sepia--is large and far more attractive than the friendship model presented, with characters too often relying on lies to fix their problems. Goes too far in avoiding moralistic characters and instead actively endorses bad behavior. (Chapter book. 6-9)

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

April 10, 2023
In this uneven chapter book, Jarvis (The Boy with Flowers in His Hair) creates two sweet-looking creatures—a brown bear with a round nose, and a small, blue bird with a feathery cowlick—and tells four stories about their difficult friendship. In the first, Bird tumbles into a big red blossom, and her voice, calling for help, leads Bear to believe that he has met a talking flower—to which he tells “silly” stories about his friend. In “The Picnic,” Bear fails to pack the things he promised to take, but his finesse (“We could eat the picnic that I have most definitely packed. But...”), coupled with Bird’s unwillingness to call him out, sidesteps conflict. In “The Painting,” Bird’s discovery that Bear paints more realistically than she does results in an art-related mistruth. And in “The Blanket,” Bear is so delighted with his fuzzy throw (“Oh, what a blanket you are... I’m going to call you Suzie”) that Bird concludes she’s been abandoned. While the duo’s charming exchanges will elicit giggles, Bird seems always to get the short end of the stick, and each vignette’s comedy is based on misunderstandings that never feel fully resolved. Ages 5–9.

May 1, 2023
Bear and Bird are the best of friends. In four stories, the pair navigates misunderstandings and hurt feelings, always managing to remember how much they value each other so they can turn a difficult situation into a happy one. In one story, Bear forgets to pack picnic supplies but can't admit it. He distracts his friend with "The Wobble Song" and an invitation to eat yummy leaves instead of picnic fare. Bird knows Bear forgot, but saves Bear's feelings by going along with the adjusted plan. In another chapter, Bird shows Bear how to paint en plein air. She is then crushed because local animals admire Bear's picture but not her own. Bird's jealousy shows up as anger, but this time Bear saves Bird's dignity by asking to hang Bird's painting on his wall. Jarvis skillfully writes about small adventures and emotional upheavals of childhood. With thick outlines, friendly curved shapes, and touches of humor, loose, cheerful digital illustrations on almost every page make the book approachable. Jarvis's short chapter book will be welcome for readers moving on from Cordell's Cornbread and Poppy but not quite ready for Barrows's Ivy and Bean series. Maeve Visser Knoth

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from May 1, 2023
Grades K-3 *Starred Review* Four short, episodic stories about best buds Bear (a cuddly brown bear) and Bird (an adorable bluebird) make up this irresistibly funny beginning chapter book for early fluent readers, the first in a new series. Jarvis' soft, rounded illustrations are invitingly childlike, and they amplify a situation's humor or sweetness. Even with the repetition of key words, the narrative's writing flows nicely, and the text generally fills half of the page. In the first story, Bird topples into a flower and gets stuck, only for Bear--who is not the brightest bulb in the box--to stumble upon the bloom and believe he's discovered a talking plant. The next tale picks up after Bird has been freed as the two friends embark on a hike and picnic, for which Bear proves hilariously ill prepared. The final two stories see Bird and Bear take a stab at painting and cozily resolve a misunderstanding. Readers will chuckle at the duo's well-intentioned mistakes and be utterly charmed by the genuine affection and kindness they display toward each other.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2023
Bear and Bird are the best of friends. In four stories, the pair navigates misunderstandings and hurt feelings, always managing to remember how much they value each other so they can turn a difficult situation into a happy one. In one story, Bear forgets to pack picnic supplies but can't admit it. He distracts his friend with "The Wobble Song" and an invitation to eat yummy leaves instead of picnic fare. Bird knows Bear forgot, but saves Bear's feelings by going along with the adjusted plan. In another chapter, Bird shows Bear how to paint en plein air. She is then crushed because local animals admire Bear's picture but not her own. Bird's jealousy shows up as anger, but this time Bear saves Bird's dignity by asking to hang Bird's painting on his wall. Jarvis skillfully writes about small adventures and emotional upheavals of childhood. With thick outlines, friendly curved shapes, and touches of humor, loose, cheerful digital illustrations on almost every page make the book approachable. Jarvis's short chapter book will be welcome for readers moving on from Cordell's Cornbread and Poppy but not quite ready for Barrows's Ivy and Bean series.

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)