BOB IS THE BIGGEST, STRONGEST, AND SMARTEST

What’s the point of being the best when no one talks to you at all?

Bob, a hulking blue bear sporting a yellow knit hat and red-and-yellow striped sweater, doesn’t need anyone to tell him that he’s the biggest, strongest, and smartest guy around. After all, he’s perfectly comfortable telling everyone else. No one questions Bob. Enter Bill, a bespectacled, diminutive badger, equally into sweaters and knit caps, who has nothing but questions on his mind. To Bob’s bafflement, Bill proceeds to ask everyone he encounters pertinent queries about their life and work. A confrontation is inevitable, but when Bill introduces himself, he asks Bob a slew of unexpected questions about his workout routines, favorite trails, and more. Bob is so taken aback by Bill’s interest that he begins to reciprocate by posing questions of his own. Now the bear once filled to the brim with braggadocio comes to understand that the most rewarding thing of all is getting to know other people. While Bob’s transformation feels a bit too instantaneous, readers will hardly care thanks to the good-natured telling of the tale. Especially delightful is Hodgson’s variety of knit headwear and colorful characters, giving the pages a jaunty, vibrant feel throughout.

Modeling the key to making friends, this gentle tale wields its messaging with a whisper rather than a thump.