A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker

THIS IS A FABULOUS KIDS BOOK!!! We got it from the library and the kids were totally involved in guessing what was coming next in the story and pointing out the feelings of the characters in the book and the pictures were absolutely delightful, which in my opinion, is all you can really ask for in a kids book. Basically, Bear is a bear that does not allow visitors because he is pretty sure that he will not like them. He even has a sign. But along comes a very persistent Mouse who makes Bear discover that he actually likes having a friend and having visitors. The book was great at illustrating how we should treat guests and friends and also illustrating the feelings of both the mouse and the bear. My children correctly identified when the characters were being rude which is a huge social skill to learn for preschoolers - LOL! The watercolor painting illustration made my children want to paint the next day and we talked about bears and mice and if they could really be friends all day the next day. It was a nice length, probably 15 minutes read aloud, making it perfect for bedtime (although there is a little excitement in it so maybe not the best one for the last story of the night).