I Am Friendly: Confessions of a Helpful Bear

by Kristen Tracy, Erin Kraan (Illustrator)

Overview

A hilarious picture book that follows the adventures of a well-meaning grizzly bear trying to help her forest friends.

Don’t look at this bear and think she is ferocious. Quite the opposite of grizzly. She is friendly!

Need directions? She’s your bear. What about an afternoon snack? Look no further. Being this thoughtful has always come naturally to her, and she just knows it’s appreciated by all her forest friends. Keep an eye out! There’s always someone in need of a helping hand—or paw.

From the silly to the sincere, I Am Friendly by children's author Kristen Tracy and rising star illustrator Erin Kraan will resonate with every big-hearted reader.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780374391188
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	05/21/2024
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	1,070,986
Product dimensions:	9.40(w) x 11.30(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Kristen Tracy is a former teacher, a poet, a winner of the Emily Dickinson First Book Award from the Poetry Foundation, and an author of numerous books for children, including I Am Picky. She lives in Los Angeles with her family.

Erin Kraan is the illustrator of several picture books, including I Am Picky by Kristen Tracy, Something’s Wrong! by Jory John, and Nothing’s Wrong! by Jory John. She creates her illustrations using a combination of woodcut prints, gouache paint, and digital collage. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Editorial Reviews

05/06/2024

Chaos ensues when an overzealous bear self-appoints as forest helper in Tracy and Kraan’s comic story. Clarifying that “I am friendly. I’ve been thoughtful my whole life,” the oblivious ursine protagonist works to help a fawn find its mother, to supply a yellow-bellied marmot some snacks, and to save what it perceives as a “stuck baby mountain goat,” among other gestures. Predictably, the figure’s self-judged friendliness proves terrifying to its recipients, resulting in varied degrees of helpfulness and humor. Spotting the marmot, Bear chases the frightened critter to a meadow with “much better grass,” and an attempt to assist a badger leaves the animal dripping in honey and swarmed by bees. When Bear beds down at day’s end, a final inviting act of kindness at last achieves only its sweet intentions. Fine lines provide a scratchy texture to the spreads and especially to Bear, whose cheerful disposition is echoed with sunny undertones. Ages 3–6. (May)

Publishers Weekly

"[I Am Friendly] will keep readers giggling. With guidance from adults, this one may spark discussions of motivation, intent, and self-perception vs. reality." —Kirkus

"Chaos ensues when an overzealous bear self-appoints as forest helper in Tracy and Kraan’s comic story." —Publishers Weekly

"Tracy and Kraan provide humorous insight into the thoughts of one of nature’s more formidable creatures: the brown bear." —Horn Book Magazine

From the Publisher

2024-02-17
A bear’s seemingly terrifying actions aren’t quite what they appear.

“Don’t look at me and think that I’m ferocious,” a large, lumpy grizzly implores readers. “I am not. I am friendly. I’ve been thoughtful my whole life.” Kind eyes and a tentative raised paw seal the deal. But it’s tough to be seen as considerate when you’re so imposing. Noticing a yellow-bellied marmot who’s running low on snacks, the bear lumbers forward, arms raised, to alert the marmot to the best spot for grass. Of course, the marmot immediately runs in the other direction, and the bear has to give chase. And when a rabbit is about to leap into its burrow, the bear plucks it from midair: “Careful, rabbit. You don’t want to fall into that deep hole.” (Yes, that is exactly what it wants to do!) Oblivious to the bunny’s terror, our ursine hero scoops it up and promises to find it a carrot. The fundamental disconnect between the well-meaning bear and the frightened wildlife will keep readers giggling. With guidance from adults, this one may spark discussions of motivation, intent, and self-perception vs. reality. Kraan relies on cheery greens and yellows to bring to life the woodland meadow, while the animals are cartoonish, with hilariously over-the-top reactions.

Perfectly silly. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews