Title: The Bear Must Go On
Author: Dev Petty
Illustrator: Brandon Todd
Published By: Philomel Books, 2020

Ah, bears. They’ve always been one of my favourite animals. I collected teddy bears when I was a kid, encourage my children in the collection of many bears and generally love anything bear-related. Obviously, when I saw this book at the library, I had no choice but to take it out and read it.

And what a delightful read it was! Not only was there a bear, but he was also a left-handed (pawed?), shy, writerly bear. Who sings little songs to himself! It was basically the male, cartoon bear version of me! (As an aside, to all of my leftie readers out there: do you notice, in books or on TV or in movies, which characters are left-handed? I always do. I don’t know if this is a left-handed-person thing, or just one of those weird Jess foibles).

The story is about a group of woodland creatures who endeavor to put on a show. There’s Squirrel, Other Squirrel, Rabbit and, of course, my man Bear.

The small critters are very excited. They want to make this show EPIC. Bear, on the other hand, wants to take notes and NOT perform. To which I say: know thyself, Bear. Way to do what makes you most comfortable while also participating in a social event. Kudos.

Anyway, they plan for everything. Costumes, sets, tickets, refreshments, the works. Then, they build the stage, sew the curtains and the show is ready to go on…or…wait…

WHAT SHOW?

They were so busy with all the other theatre-related jobs that they kinda forgot to write a show. Whoops. Happens to the best of us.

Fortunately, Bear to the rescue, he’s been secretly writing down the little song he was singing! So, you know, they could perform that. Except that they don’t really know the tune and Bear’s writing is a little hard to read. Which means…

Bear has to go on.

Now, Bear being a people (animal?) pleaser decides that he’s going to overcome his paralyzing shyness and step into the limelight. To help his friends and all that.

And, of course, he does a great job and everyone loves the show.

I really like the story. As someone who is shy, sometimes it just takes a little nudge (or a very good reason, like helping your friends out) to push you outside of that comfort zone.* And sometimes it works out really well (and, okay, sometimes it doesn’t**).

The art is fantastic. It captures Bear’s emotions perfectly, and it’s delightful to look at. The best picture books have writing and art that support each other, and this one most definitely does.

If you want a fun, sweet book about friendship, overcoming your fears and large, friendly, left-handed bears, this is a must-read.

5/5 sequined curtains

* My older daughter actually had this experience at school in December. She wrote a really good essay and was asked to read it at an assembly. She would normally decline such a public performance, but she tried it and she did amazingly well. I’m not saying she’ll start a career in public speaking, but it was super-good for her ego to have the auditorium erupt in applause.

**See: Jess Stars in a Grade 12 Sears Drama Festival Play That Still Gives her Nightmares to This Day.