The Best Kind of Bear by Greg Gormley (review)

A little orange bear with a smart blue bowtie befriends a girl named Nelly, who politely asks him "What kind of bear are you?" Unsure but determined to find out, Bear sets out in search of other bears. He finds something in common with each of the four he meets (he loves naps like the grizzly bear, he loves climbing like the spectacled bear) but also some dissimilarities (six months of hibernation is too much sleep, and heights make him dizzy). The story is sweet if a little protracted, and the sparish, bearish text makes for a gentle readaloud; audiences will giggle as little textual observations about the washing label on Bear's bottom and funny stitches on his tummy make it quite clear he's the toy kind of bear. The rough line work and saturated colors of Bear and his new acquaintances create a cozy sense of familiarity, and layered watercolor washes, splashes of dots, and sharp striated strokes build the backdrop to Bear's investigations, with occasional inked details accenting otherwise organic shapes. The issue of identity is adorably, if abruptly, resolved when our hero accepts Nelly's offer to become her bear (thus becoming "the best kind of bear"), and little listeners want to snuggle their own stuffed animals after journeying with Bear.