The Bear and the Moon

Starred review from August 3, 2020
Burgess (Drawing on Walls: A Life of Keith Haring) and Chien (The Town of Turtle) add savor to a simple story with visceral writing and elemental artwork. A red balloon floats toward a young black bear: “It was red as a berry and round like the moon with a long silver string drifting brightly in the breeze.” The bear’s roly-poly body provides a cozy counterpoint to the balloon’s smooth surface. The two engage in a pas de deux—“When he walked, it walked. When he danced, it danced”—until a too-eager bear hug ends the balloon’s short life. The animal is stricken (“Bad bear, he thought. Bad, bad bear”) until comfort arrives from another sky-given orb, which “reached down to him and gently stroked his fur.” Chien creates each spread with a sense of freshness, giving the expressive bear’s world an ancient feel with long horizons and sheets of color. Burgess writes with nimble emotionality; sprightly phrases lead up to the balloon’s demise (“What a wonderful thing! What a squishable, huggable thing!”), and genuine mourning occurs after. Together, the creators deliver an essential message of self-acceptance: “Good bear. Kind bear. Don’t worry, bear.” Ages 3–5. Author’s agent: Erica Rand Silverman, Stimola Literary Studio. Illustrator’s agent: Steven Malk, Writers House.

A playful bear makes an ephemeral friend. An expressive little black bear befriends something "red as a berry / and round like the moon / with a long silver string" in this sweet story. The bear has large ears, a white nose, and tottering, toddler-ish proportions sure to charm, and his buoyant companion somehow manages to "smile back at him like a friend" through vibrancy alone. The straightforward writing floats through Chien's soft-textured, multimedia illustrations with heartwarming ease as the pair dance, find honey, and roll down a hill in glowing, abstract landscapes. When the inevitable occurs, as any little one enamored with something as squishable and huggable as a balloon will learn, the bear's sorrow overcomes him. "Bad bear, / he thought. / Bad, bad bear. // Night fell, / but the bear / skipped his dinner." The little bear sinks into deep blue spreads, but his grief melts even the heart of the moon, and with a little celestial reassurance, the bear comes to value his good memories, giving the book a satisfying amount of substance. In the author's and illustrator's expert hands, readers are sure to feel lighter than air and ready for bed. The dreamy spread in which the bear receives his message from the moon is worth a mention all on its own, charming and cheerful as the rest of the book may be, as are velvety lavender endpapers featuring the balloon and the moon. As delightful as a balloon--but with more weight. (Picture book. 2-5)

COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. (Online Review)

October 23, 2020
Preschool-Grade 1 One day a red dot appears, and it becomes Bear's friend. This floating red dot is tied to a string, and it walks when Bear walks and dances when he dances and keeps him quiet company while he eats and stargazes and climbs trees for honey. But when Bear tries to hug his new friend, it pops, and nothing can fix it. Bad, bad bear. That night, however, the gentle moon shines down on the heartbroken bear and lets him know that he is, in fact, good and kind after all. Tonally, the language fluctuates rather confusingly between sophisticated, poetic sentences and simplistic, one-line phrasing; but the messaging is sweet, and the elegance of Chien's artwork elevates the story to a steady place of beauty. Her soft, inviting illustrations--using what appears to be a mixture of colored pencil, watercolor, and occasional collage--present the reader with beautifully saturated skyscapes, creative and complex depictions of stillness and movement, and an adorably emotive bear cub. This is a bedtime book to snuggle into.

COPYRIGHT(2020) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

February 1, 2021

PreS-K-A simple red balloon provokes joy, shock, sadness, and, ultimately, peace in this tone poem to kinship. The titular bear discovers a red balloon and immediately delights in it. "What a nice thing! What a wonderful thing! /What a squishable, huggable thing!" The balloon becomes a companion, and the bear eats, sleeps, and even sits "on the pot" with it. Then, in a playful moment, the balloon suddenly pops. After a period of denial, the bear falls into depression and self-loathing. Only the majesty of the full moon can help soothe the bear into a peaceful sleep, dancing with its beloved balloon in happy memories. Chien works with a primarily red and blue color palette in her mixed media illustrations. The simplicity of the outlines and colors create some truly lovely spreads, and the little bear is a charmer. Through the bear's expressive face, young children can easily discern and relate to many emotions. VERDICT Spare text and simple illustration will immerse listeners at story times in this quiet take on love and loss.-Jessica Ko, Los Angeles P.L.

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2020
A wide-eyed bear -- a furry stand-in for toddlers learning to manage strong emotions, as well as readers of all ages dealing with sorrow -- spots a red balloon on a string. The smitten bear plays with it, believing that this "small red moon" is a gift from the sky. When he attempts to hug it, the balloon pops. The bear fails to fix it, grieves the loss, and takes the blame: "Bad bear," he thinks. When the shimmering moon rises that night, it speaks: "Good bear. Kind bear. Don't worry, bear." The bear, absolved of his guilt, relies on memories to sustain him, and he dreams of dancing with his departed balloon friend. Burgess's unassuming language is endearing (bear wakes from a "snooze" and gives the balloon "a tour of his whereabouts"), and there are sweet moments of humor ("This is the spot where I sit on the pot," the bear tells the balloon near a waterfall). The pacing is flawless: shortly before it happens, readers anticipate the plot's tragic turn by spotting bear's sharp claws as he lovingly grips his friend. Chien's hazy, atmospheric illustrations, which employ playful perspectives, feature splendid vistas with rich washes of color, though she also knows when to let the bear take the focus in crisp white space. This one packs an emotional punch, and not just for preschoolers: it's about no less than loss, self-forgiveness, and the ways in which memories can serve to mitigate grief.

(Copyright 2020 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from November 1, 2020
A wide-eyed bear -- a furry stand-in for toddlers learning to manage strong emotions, as well as readers of all ages dealing with sorrow -- spots a red balloon on a string. The smitten bear plays with it, believing that this "small red moon" is a gift from the sky. When he attempts to hug it, the balloon pops. The bear fails to fix it, grieves the loss, and takes the blame: "Bad bear," he thinks. When the shimmering moon rises that night, it speaks: "Good bear. Kind bear. Don't worry, bear." The bear, absolved of his guilt, relies on memories to sustain him, and he dreams of dancing with his departed balloon friend. Burgess's unassuming language is endearing (bear wakes from a "snooze" and gives the balloon "a tour of his whereabouts"), and there are sweet moments of humor ("This is the spot where I sit on the pot," the bear tells the balloon near a waterfall). The pacing is flawless: shortly before it happens, readers anticipate the plot's tragic turn by spotting bear's sharp claws as he lovingly grips his friend. Chien's hazy, atmospheric illustrations, which employ playful perspectives, feature splendid vistas with rich washes of color, though she also knows when to let the bear take the focus in crisp white space. This one packs an emotional punch, and not just for preschoolers: it's about no less than loss, self-forgiveness, and the ways in which memories can serve to mitigate grief. Julie Danielson

(Copyright 2020 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)