The Bear and the Wildcat
by Kazumi Yumoto; illus. by Komako Sakai; trans. from Japanese by Cathy Hirano
Primary    Gecko    48 pp.
2/23    9781877467707    $19.99

Young viewers may wonder why the cover art shows a bear and a bird, not a wildcat. On the title page, however, we see the bird lying on its back, and the first spread tells us that Bear’s best friend, Bird, has died. Heartbroken, Bear fashions a small box for his friend, filling it with flower petals. All the forest animals tell him he needs to forget about Bird, but one day Bear meets a wildcat, the first animal to understand his grief. The wildcat plays his violin, and Bear is flooded with memories of his friend; afterward, Bear finally feels ready to bury Bird. “We’ll always be friends, my little bird and I.” This quiet, gently told story about death and friendship is well matched with soothing illustrations. Muted oval-shaped vignettes of various sizes feature black backgrounds, while the dusty lilac of the textural backgrounds signals tranquility. The only other color appears when Bear is remembering his friend: from then on, the judicious use of sky blue in the art feels like a sign of hope and understanding. In likely a nod to “Puss in Boots,” the boot-clad wildcat here nicely epitomizes folklore’s “animal as helper.” This Japanese import (­originally published in 2008) by Yumoto (The Friends, rev. 11/96) and illustrator Sakai (Emily’s Balloon, rev. 7/06; ­Hannah’s Night, rev. 7/14) will be a welcome a­ddition to books about ­grieving.

From the March/April 2023 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.