The Bear and the Moon by Matthew Burgess, Illustrated by Cátia Chien

The Bear and the Moon words by Matthew Burgess pictures by Cátia Chien review copy from Chronicle Books Cátia Chien's illustrations for The Bear and the Moon are so completely enchanting that I found myself diving into each illustration, forgetting to read Burgess's wonderful words. Then I went back and read the words and fell in love with this picture book all over again. One day, bear sees a red dot in the sky. As it floats closer, the dot becomes a red balloon tied with a silver string. Curious, bear tries to catch the balloon, tumbling into a "furry puddle." When bear finally catches it, the play changes. Bear takes the balloon all over his world, from the tree he climbs to find honey to the "spot where I sit on the pot," a beautiful perch at the foot of a waterfall. Tumbling with the red thing (Burgess never names it balloon) bear joyfully exclaims, "What a nice thing! What a wonderful thing! What a squishable, huggable thing!" Then the b