Bear

Bear

By Been Queen

Illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton

Published September 2, 2020 

My rating 5 out of 5 stars 

Bear is a guide dog for the blind, and he would do anything for his best friend and owner, Patrick. But when Bear suddenly loses his own vision, he worries that he has lost his purpose! Determined to protect Patrick at all costs, Bear sets out on a quest to regain his eyesight. Along the way Bear will learn to tap into his other senses and begin to see the world from a new perspective that is at times more rich and colorful than the world he's always known. 

Writer Ben Queen (Disney/Pixar's Cars 2 and Cars 3) draws inspiration from real life stories of how memory can influence how we recall our own surroundings, and artist Joe Todd-Stanton (A Mouse Called Julian) lovingly renders an unforgettable story of one dog's grand adventure from the wooded countryside to the heart of Manhattan where he encounters new friends and discovers his true calling.

This is an illustrated story of a guide dog for a blind man. All his life, Bear (the dog) has known that he's going to have a job, he's been trained specifically to help his best friend and owner. 

One day, he wakes up without his own vision and is afraid he's lost not only his job, but his purpose in life. In this book, we follow Bear through his amazing adventure as he learns to use his other senses and "see" the world around him from a different view-point. 

The author and illustrator work together just beautifully. Bear "sees" the world around him in his mind, like the bear den he stumbles into is a den with an armchair and fireplace. It is simply a book you will have to read and see to understand. 

I was able to borrow this book from my local library using the Hoopla service, but it is for sale, available on Kindle or hardcover.