Bear is up and ready for a great day. The sun is shining when he strolls out of his cave. He’s looking forward to a forest party later that night with all his friends.

He has a job to do – collect all the firewood they will need for a lovely big bonfire. He begins his task, picking up loose wood off the ground.

OUCH! He has a splinter in his paw. That’s not so good. Deciding to find better wood, he moves further into the forest.

TIMBER! Double ouch! Beaver has been busy too, and his falling tree falls right on Bear’s head. That’s not so good either.

But Beaver gives him some of his wood to make up for the bump on his head. That is a good thing.

Oh no! Something else goes wrong. Then another, and another! Bear can’t understand how such a great day can turn into a terrible one so quickly. Luckily he has his very wise friend Frog to help and point out, that really, all the terrible things Bear had happen, and is awfully upset about – aren’t a big deal after all.

Even when something doesn’t go to plan at the party itself, something positive happens instead.

A wonderful story about looking for the positive things and not dwelling on the bad. Bear begins his day well, but then a whole lot of little things go wrong for him. He still wants to have the party, but can’t get past all of the terrible things that seem insurmountable. Sometimes, children struggle with this. Small things seem like mountains.

All it took was a good friend like Frog to help Bear, or of course, an adult for a child. Frog lets Bear cry it out, then patiently goes through each of Bear’s mishaps and takes the sting out of them. He got a splinter – Frog took it out. Bear’s bump on his head isn’t all that big, and the rain has gone now and the sun is out, etc.

There’s always a positive somewhere – it’s about taking a deep breath and seeing it.

Author / Illustrator – Duncan Beedie

Picture Book

(2024, Templar Books, Animals, Bear, Problems, Negatives, Things Going Wrong, Positive, Party, Mountain out of a Molehill, Deconstructing problems, Frog, Friend, Upset, Calm)