The Perfect Bear

The little white bear is terribly proud of his white fur, his red hat, and the key in his middle that lets him sing a song. When he is given to the little girl, he is not best pleased that she wants to play with him. He thinks his name is DO NOT TOUCH as that is what the sign in the shop said, but the little girl touches him – and takes him to the beach and leaves him out in the rain. After a bath, his song box doesn’t work anymore, so the little girl removes it and sews him up with black stitches. Poor bear! It is an old pink rabbit that explains to the bear about love, and he learns that the little girl loves him and he loves her: ‘And the empty place inside him is full of happiness.’

It is the light and texture in Blythe’s illustrations that make them particularly stunning, and as the bear changes from perfect to scruffy, he becomes more and more loveable, the pictures reflecting this perfectly.

While the story is on the sweet side, the book as a whole is full of charm and is a good allegory of the power of love.