A Letter for Bear by David Lucas

"Bear was a postman. There were always lots of letters to deliver. 

But there were never any letters for Bear."

So what do we now know about Bear? Read the words and look closely at the illustrations. He is a hard worker. He delivers the letters no matter what the weather is like. And he is so lonely. On this day the weather is very cold and windy and all the precious letters fall into the snow.  Bear cannot read the address labels so he is forced to visit every home but this makes for the perfect turning point in this story because, in a wonderful scene, he finally meets all his customers.

It has been a day filled with conversations but, arriving home, alone again, Bear feels even more lonely. Luckily Bear is not a guy who wallows in his sorrow. He is a problem solver!

Dear Friends,

Please come to my Christmas party.

Yours sincerely the Postman.

This book has perfectly paced page turns. On the next page we see Bear decorating his cave. On the next page we see him waiting and waiting and waiting. Oh dear no one is coming.

Turn the page again. 

"But then he heard a sweet, and a squeak, and lots of shy little voices saying 'May be come in?"

Everyone enjoys a splendid party but the best surprise of all comes the next day when Bear heads off to work only to discover all of the letter are for him. Can you guess what they say?

Perhaps you are wondering about his arctic friends - they are all included on the back end paper - ptarmigan, robin, arctic fox, snow bunting, ermine, snowy owl, lemming, arctic red poll, arctic hare and waxwing. 

I spied this little book when I was shelving a huge collection of Christmas books in the library I visit each week. It caught my eye because it looked like a different Christmas story, the colours on the cover appealed to me and I like the way the letters of the title have been created with a geometric filler. Inside each page also has a geometric border using these same colours - pink, orange, pale aqua blue and white. 

The illustrations are a marvel to take in with their bold, limited color palette and all the intricate pattern details throughout. I would think that David Lucas has a grand time creating his illustrations. They must cheer just about any heart and I hope they delight yours. Three Books a Night

A wintry, holiday read much like a gingerbread house: ...  poignant, sweet, soul-warming and studded with delicious details that warrant close inspection. Kirkus Star review

This one caught my eye since this rather sweet little bear is on the front cover carrying a large satchel and wearing a smart red peaked cap! I love that Bear is a postman. It seems the right kind of job for him to be doing. But I wasn't entirely prepared for the sad turn the story would take! The Book Bag

Since this book was published in 2013 it is now sadly out of print but I there seem to be plenty of used copies available and as I always say, you might be lucky and find this in a local or school library. Take a look here to see other books by UK author/illustrator David Lucas. See inside this book here.

Here is the perfect companion book:

The Lonely Mailman

I am very keen to read more books by David Lucas: