One fall day Bear is getting ready to have a picnic with Mouse. But when it s time to leave together, there is no tap, tap, tapping on Bear s front door. Where is Mouse, small and gray and bright-eyed? Bear sets out to meet him on the path, only to find his friend sitting alone on a stump, looking sad, lamenting the changes of the season leaves falling, flowers dying, birds migrating. I don t like it when things go away, Mouse says quietly. How can the curmudgeonly Bear cheer up his usually cheery friend? With characteristic warmth, this perfectly paced story of friendship, difficult feelings, and a well-meaning role reversal meets the healing power of laughter in the masterful hands of Bonny Becker and Kady MacDonald Denton.

JP / AUT kdt