LETTERS FROM BEAR

Letters From Bear by partners Gauthier David and Marie Caudry is their English-language debut about a bear traveling to find a friend.

Set up as a series of letters from Bear to Bird, Letters From Bear sees Bear setting out to follow Bird, who has traveled south for the winter, and the letters Bear writes along the way. Despite nerves (Bear has never left home before) and war (Bear stumbles upon a desert war), Bear feels brave stepping out into the unknown to reunite with their best friend. And Bear is rewarded in the end with a beautiful surprise that shows just how far Bird will go to be with Bear, too.

The color palette has undertones of blue and orange throughout, so even in the greenest of scenes there's a hint of complementary colors -- Bear, who's orange, gets caught in blue water, Bear's new cat friend appears in shades of blue, and crowded scenes like the one at the birthday celebration or the desert war are done almost entirely in shades of blue and orange. There's a feeling of comfort in this, for no matter what, you can always spot Bear on the page. It makes the journey feel less perilous for Bear and readers feel more comfortable as observers to Bear's journey.

Letters From Bear published last month from Eerdmans Books for Young Readers.

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