Two little bears by Suzi Moore

Ill. by Nicola O'Byrne. Bloomsbury, 2013. ISBN 9781408836941.
(Age: 3+) Picture book. Bears. Companionship. Baby bear sleeps in the warm den with his mother, but wakes, wanting to go outside. Similarly a snow bear wakes and wants to venture outside, but both bears are told that it is still winter and they must sleep the long cold nights until spring. When spring finally arrives the bears take in their new surroundings, the smaller bears learning fast how to make use of their environment with their parents showing them how.
In crisp rhyming lines, we see the bears  stand by the river, spying each other across the water, each wondering what the other one is.
They come together, hiding, smiling, running and working out that two bears are better than one.
The repetition of the first stanzas rounds off the tale as the two bears once again, get into their den for the long winter sleep.
The soft water colour  illustrations readily show the young bears, getting up to the sorts of things all small children do, exploring their environment and meeting new friends.
This would be a good introduction to friendship and companionship, the fun in having a friend to do things with, and also teach about the different bears that are in the world, and what their habits are, making them need to sleep for the winter long. A great read aloud, the gentle rhyming lines will be eagerly repeated by the children listening to the tale.
Fran Knight