A Best Friend for Bear - by Petr Horacek (Hardcover)

About the Book

"A charmingly earnest pair of bears find a friend where they least expect it in this heartwarming comedy of errors featuring the rich artwork of Petr Horacek."--

Book Synopsis

A charmingly earnest pair of bears find a friend where they least expect it in this heartwarming comedy of errors featuring the rich artwork of Petr Horácek.

Black Bear is feeling lonely, so he decides to look for a friend. Luckily, he meets Brown Bear, who is in the same situation! The bears decide to join forces, but finding a friend isn't easy. After helping each other through forests and over a brook, skirting a ravine and even practicing how to "find" with a slightly suspenseful game of hide-and-seek, their elusive friend is still nowhere to be found. Or has the perfect candidate been there all along? With deeply saturated colors and endearing characters, Petr Horacek offers a gentle reminder that the best things in life may be hiding in plain sight.

Review Quotes

Horácek's signature illustration style is on display in this sweet story. . . The book offers a lovely show of kindness as the bears actively display the hallmarks of good friendship: supporting one another, lightening a heavy load, and sharing excitement. A sweetly funny tale of burgeoning friendship.
--Kirkus Reviews

Horácek's mixed-media illustrations in rich forest-y colors bring out the bears' sweet, naive personalities and capture their varying emotions as the day unfolds. Young readers will of course catch on long before the protagonists do that the extended friend-search is unnecessary, but that superior knowledge (and the bears' cluelessness) is part of the story's appeal.
--The Horn Book

Horácek's gorgeously scribbled multi-media drawings are textured and inky, creating an almost three-dimensional style. . . . The book is both funny and tender, and as the two buddies hold paws to lean over deep ravines and wander through golden butterfly-filled fields, kiddos will enjoy being in on the joke--realizing that the bears have already found what they're looking for, far before the bears do.
--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

About the Author

Petr Horácek grew up in Prague and trained as a graphic designer, illustrator, and painter. He has written and illustrated many books for children, including Animal Opposites, Strawberries Are Red, The Greedy Goat, Puffin Peter, The Best Place in the World, and Who Is the Biggest? He lives in England.