How Bear and his forest friends discover a new friend will enchant young readers. Karma Wilson's playful text and Jane Chapman's radiant illustrations make "Bear's New Friend" a perfect summertime read-aloud companion to the bestselling "Bear Snores On."

For those familiar with Wilson's Bear series, they will love meeting Bear's newest forest friend. If this is your first book in the Bear series it is still a wonderful opportunity to learn a new forest animal and the see how easy it is to make new friends. The painted pictures depict vibrant forest scenes of Bear, mouse, rabbit, and other animals you child can recognize. Wilson's regular use of rhyming couplets and repetition form a fluid reading cadence that you child can follow along with and eventually begin learning to recognize words and read.

While Bear tries to figure out who is hiding in the tree, your child can offer up new guesses as Bear's friends appear one-by-one to narrow it down. When the new friend finally reveals himself, explaining he is very shy, your child can relate with their own experience of feeling coy or perhaps meeting a bashful new friend. You can discuss the feelings associated with being new, and how to deal with those feelings. It is a wonderful opportunity to explain that being shy is okay, and helping a shy friend feel more comfortable by being friendly is always a nice thing to do.