School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1- Lily, a girl in a red tutu, loves to draw. One day she depicts friendship and imaginative play in the form of a big brown bear. Together, Lily and Bear go on kid adventures and bear adventures until it is time to sleep. The illustrations are done in a naive style with crayons and swaths of geometric patterns. Simple, bold text contributes just enough to the illustrations, creating a lovely partnership between words and images. VERDICT A great addition to picture book and storytime collections.-Mindy Whipple, West Jordan Library, UT © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Lily loves to draw, and when her crayon-sketched bear comes off the page and into real life, she finally has a friend to share her favorite things with: playing make-believe, attending tea parties, and "sail[ing] carpet seas" as pirates. Eventually, Bear is ready for something new, and he leads Lily outdoors and shares his world with her. Stubbs shows them catching fish, eating huckleberries, "and scratch[ing] their backs on a knotty pine" until the day is done and they curl up to dream of future adventures. The charming, childlike style of Lily's crayoned art gives way to the screenprint-meets-scratchboard look of newcomer Stubbs's mixed-media work, giving the book a playful freshness. The cheerful palette, which looks like it could have sprung directly from Lily's crayon pail, is well suited to this upbeat story of young friendship. The contrast between Lily and Bear's indoor and outdoor worlds, as well as the willingness with which both friends participate in things the other loves, creates a strong sense that all good friendships require a little give and take. Ages 4-8. Agent: Jodie Hodges, United Agents. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
A picture book about a child who draws a bear that comes to life and plays with her? Familiar enough. The twist is that Bear eventually tires of playing on Lily's terms and expects her to follow his lead for once. It's all simple and fleet, with plucky illustrations and a clear-eyed message about the two-way street that is friendship. (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.