Author/Illustrator: Jennifer A. Bell
Two Lions 2022
Hardcover, 40 Page Picture Book
Hedgehog is busy making gifts for all of her friends, but can’t quite decide on the best gift for her dearest friend Bear.
Bear and Hedgehog have spent so much time together. Bear has shown Hedgehog how to ice-skate, and all about sunflowers and meadows. So she dreams up a great surprise and bakes Bear a huge gingerbread house. She has to get the house to Bear, and while she’s pulling it through the forest a great storm comes up. Her day doesn’t go as planned, however, in the end she and Bear get to spend time together and that’s what is really important.
A day with a friend is the best gift of all.
This reviewer liked this book for several reasons. First, the self-ended sheets are attractive and have the recipes Hedgehog’s gingerbread cookies and Grandma’s Honey Icing. The characters are nicely done and the pages include vignettes as well well as spreads. The storyline is thoughtful and the language is simple and minimal.
Hedgehog is making her gifts, which is so much more meaningful than buying them, she’s thinking about what each person would want to have, which again, is thinking of others. However when it comes to her very special friend she goes out of her way to try and make it as fantastic as her friend bear is to her. Her grandiose idea falls to pieces while being caught in a winter storm but Bear doesn’t care. She’s just glad her Hegehog is safe and warm and that they get to spend a day together, which is what friendship is all about.
The Best Gift for Bear by Jennifer A. Bell gets 5 stars from this reviewer.