Goodbye, Bear

This gentle, touching story of the death of a dear friend, Bear, introduces children to the complex and often confusing feelings of grief, and the ways that Bear’s friends honor his memory as they learn how to cope with the loss. “Bear died on a Friday, while sunlight speckled the grass and caterpillars nibbled leaves in the forest.” Beaver and Mole, two of Bear’s friends, return some of bear’s belongings to his tree house, not quite understanding why their friend is no longer with them. The two cry together, sit quietly together, and feel angry together over the loss of their friend–but they gradually realize that Bear wouldn’t want them to be unhappy, so they decide to finish something that Bear had started.