Nestled in a comfy home in the woods, Bear keeps a private life with a large signed nailed to his front door that boldly states: NO VISITORS ALLOWED. No one has bothered Bear for a long time, until one morning when his breakfast is interrupted by a tapping at the door. Opening it to a small, gray, bright-eyed mouse, Bear points to the sign and shoos the mouse away. Moments later, back in the peaceful confines of his kitchen, Bear opens a cupboard and finds . . . the mouse! Infuriated, Bear sends the mouse packing, despite its polite request for a bite to eat. This incident repeats itself with increasing hilarity and tension as Bear boards the windows and plugs the bathtub drain, while the mouse continues to pop up in unexpected places. Bear can only take so much. When the cute, coy mouse begs to stay, Bear caves in—but only for teatime, and then the mouse must go. Sitting by the fire with a bit of cheese and a spot of tea, Bear’s final surprise comes when he realizes how pleasant company can be. The large pages in this picture book offer ample white space that showcases the homey, pastel-hued watercolor illustrations of Bear, his home, and his new friend. (Ages 3–6)

Cheery persistence wears down a curmudgeonly bear in a wry comedy of manners that ends in a most unlikely friendship.

Bear is quite sure he doesn’t like visitors. He even has a sign. So when a mouse taps on his door one day, Bear tells him to leave. But when Bear goes to the cupboard to get a bowl, there is the mouse — small and gray and bright-eyed. In this slapstick tale that begs to be read aloud, all Bear wants is to eat his breakfast in peace, but the mouse — who keeps popping up in the most unexpected places — just won’t go away!