Big Bear and Little Fish by Sandra Nickel, illustrated by Il Sung Na

 Bear is big, so naturally she wants the BIGGEST stuffed teddy at the carnival. But she gets a very small fish instead. How can she be friends with such a small creature? What could they possibly have in common? Bear focuses on all the differences between herself and Fish, reinforcing that there is no way they can communicate.

But when she finally begins to talk to Fish, she discovers they actually do have a lot in common - and maybe all the things she worried about aren't problems after all.

Il Sung Na has a fascinating variety of art styles and in this book he explores a more digital style with bursts of color against pale, swirling lines marking out Fish's bowl, Bear's sky, and the trees and houses. Nickel's text is, on the surface, a simple tale about making friends but with a teacher or adult guiding discussion, it could be expanded to talk about friendship and communicating with those who are different. Bear makes many initial assumptions - that Fish will not like the same food, will not be able to walk with Bear, and is just too different for them to coexist. However, once she actually talks to Fish, she realizes that they can actually be friends.

There is a hint of "we're all the same" that I don't care for, and I did think the book pushed a little too hard in the direction of Fish just wanting to do whatever Bear did, without introducing her own interests and ideas, but it's still an interesting approach.

Verdict: A good addition to collection of social-emotional learning and for introducing discussions on diversity.

ISBN: 9781728417172; Published September 2022 by Carolrhoda; Review copy provided by publisher