Suzanne Bloom

A sweet picture-book meditation on friendship and tolerance, I Just Like You makes the point that although we are all very different - we look differently, speak differently, and enjoy different things - we can still come together in good fellowship. Because in the end, despite our differences, we just like each other...

My first title from author/illustrator Suzanne Bloom, this simple but heartwarming book pairs a poetic read-aloud text with cute, colorful artwork. The animal cast is quite show more endearing - I appreciated the fact that the first page depicts an elephant and a kitty cat, as I love those animals! - and the message is on point. Although I wouldn't describe it as a particular favorite, of the many picture-books I read each week, this is definitely one I can recommend to customers, when they come looking for stories that explain friendship to very young children. show less

First sentence: I wish I could fly.

Premise/plot: Bear REALLY wants to fly. He spends most of the book wishing to fly and trying to fly. By the end of the book, he learns that while he cannot fly he has learned to dance....and dancing is almost like flying.

My thoughts: I definitely enjoyed Bear Can Dance more than Fox Forgets! I love the illustrations so much. A good reminder of why I enjoy this series by Suzanne Bloom. Both books are newly reprinted/republished.

Wanted to read this one for a while, so much did I like the cover. Sweet story about friendship and understanding, illustrated in lovely, dreamy, textured pastels, blue, yet warm, the type you would want to frame and hang by your child's bed. There are follow ups to this books, in a series of titles about Goose and Bear, and if my son was younger (he's four, going on five) I would probably get all the titles without hesitation. [b:A Splendid Friend, Indeed|1081530|A Splendid Friend, show more Indeed|Suzanne Bloom|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347798127s/1081530.jpg|1068273] however, while probably aimed at toddlers/preschoolers can double as an early reader with its simple vocabulary, and yet it contains two of my favorite words of the English language: splendid and indeed! Goose and Bear are certainly an unlikely pair of friends, as different in temperament as they are, one eager, inquisitive, the other quiet and contemplative. This creates a tension right from the beginning, that definitely caught my young reader's attention. We loved the happy conclusion! show less

I suppose I am feeling just a tad jaded about kids' books, which make up the bulk of my reading a present. We did not need Goose and Bear, in particular, but I suppose they're as good an arbitrary pairing of beasts to teach kids gently didactic things in a cute way as any other (well, not as good as axolotl and giant sloth), and I like to still believe that some kid somewhere has learned the intended lesson about how some aminals like being on their own and some aminal like always hanging show more and both things are okay. show less