Blackboard Bear

Anthony is never allowed to join in the games of his older brother's friends because he's too little - but then he finds an amazing new friend when a huge bear, which he's drawn on his blackboard, suddenly comes to life. The friendship is subtly depicted by Martha Alexander who builds a variety of needs and coping strategies into a very private, cleverly understated, little book. The comic-strip format is deliberately too small to share with more than two or three children at a time and this enhances the feeling she's trying to create. It's a book which explores not only Anthony's relationships but those of the reader, too.