CLIP Review: Bear Says Thanks

Author:  Karma Wilson
Illustrator:  Jane Chapman

Bear is lonely and bored. He misses his friends.

       "I could make a big dinner!
       A feast I could share.
       But he looks through his cupboard,
       and the cupboard is bare."

But his friends know just what to do.  Soon Mouse shows up with a huckleberry pie, the hare with a big batch of muffins, Badger with a string of fish from the old fishin' hole and on it goes...  Each friend is most gratefully thanked by Bear, but he soon begins to "mutter and stutter and wear a big frown",  because he has brought nothing to share.  Well, perhaps in his mind, but not in the hearts and minds of Bear's friends.  His friends hug him tight, telling him that what he has to share is every bit as special and important as the food they have brought. Can you guess what it could be?   

Even young children will understand that it's okay for friends to have different gifts and we can say "Thanks" to each other for sharing many different things.

Mary Byrne Kline