Bear and Bird: The Stick and other stories, written and illustrated by Jarvis. Candlewick Press, Penguin Random House. 2025. $7.99 ages 5 and up

"Hang on, thought Bird, that's not my ball. 
Oh, dear. Bear must have accidentally left 
it in my pully-truck. I've got to get it back 
for him. 

Bird went looking for Pig."

If your early readers enjoyed previous books about good friends Bird and Bear, they are sure to relish the four new stories in this most enjoyable collection.  

When Bear arrives with a leaf stuck to his face and mentioning he has just been to the market where he got many friendly waves, Bird does not want to make him feel embarrassed about the leaf. She tries a variety of silly ways to make it go away before they leave for breakfast. Nothing works. As they walk to the restaurant, they notice everyone is wearing a leaf of their face. Apparently it is a new fashion statement, donned after seeing Bear earlier. Bear continues to be unaware. Thankfully, the wind helps to solve the problem. 

In The Swap, Bird is upset when she thinks she has swapped Bear's bouncy ball by mistake. After many tries to get it back by swapping what she has in her pully-truck, Bird finally gives up her favorite hat for the ball. Only then does she learn that the ball does not belong to Bear. Happily, he has swapped that same ball for a red hat that looks exactly like Bird's. What a lucky friend Bird is! 

On a windy day when everyone is gathering sticks, Bear and Bird notice two friends fighting over a stick, and agree they would never do that. Too soon they realize that they are both holding the same stick. Each insists it belongs to the other. Neither will take it for their own. After long minutes of going back and forth over ownership, they pile all the sticks together to create a cozy STICKY DEN for shared comfort. Their last discussion concerns who should enter first. 

In the final story, Bear asks Bird to teach him about time. Bird has many wonderful interpretations of time that include Bath time, Pizza time, Storytime and many other fun things to do with time. When they take note of Bear's clock which shows none of the times Bird has been telling him about, they determine together it must be broken. That leads them to the best time of all ... BEDTIME, and a chance to spend a snug night together in their Sticky Den. Moon watches over them. 

Do they make each other happy? Yes, they do. Funny and full of charm, this is a welcome addition to the rest of the series. Perfect fare for emergent readers.