Katya loves comics, fears water, and has suffered years of bullying from her peers about her protruding ears. Used to being alone, she spurns her Meema's suggestion to leave their summer cottage and make friends, but when she is caught in a rainstorm, she befriends a larger-than-life bear pinned by a downed tree. A sincere, heartfelt bond blossoms between them through touching moments: feeding Kodi, as she calls him ("That's enough to feed a bear," the fishmonger quips after a sale); reading comics; and wandering in the Alaskan woods. When Katya unexpectedly returns home to Seattle, Kodi pursues her to and through the city, hilariously disturbing residents and assisting a local fisherman. Each panel offers detail that merits close and appreciative examination. Lush, thoughtful watercolors breathe a stunning vibrancy into mundane activities (making a cup of tea) and places (a light-saturated urban street), and sweeping landscapes overlooking Alaskan wilderness. Though side stories--notably the absence of Katya's parents and the cause of her hydrophobia--go unexplored, the duo's winningly rendered friendship more than makes up for it. Ages 9--12. Agent: Erica Rand Silverman, Stimola Literary Studio. (Aug.)■

Gr 3 Up--The gift of friendship comes in many forms, and here, it takes the immense, fuzzy form of a wounded Kodiak bear. After shy, bookish Katya encounters Kodi with a leg pinned under a fallen tree in the woods near her grandma's Alaskan cabin and nurses him to health, the two become bonded for life. When Katya abruptly returns to Seattle, Kodi makes an epic journey to find his best friend. The bare bones of the story are familiar, but whimsical twists pull readers into Kodi's quest quickly, even with the near certainty of a happy ending. Cullum's rich watercolors, perfectly blended on rough textured paper, capture Alaskan wilderness and Seattle's urban grit with equal beauty and accuracy. The relative sparseness of dialogue and narration makes this a great addition to the adorably anthropomorphic animal genre. It's not always easy to communicate convincingly without dialogue, but our understanding of Kodi's feelings, motives, and personality becomes richer as the story progresses. VERDICT Beautifully crafted, thoughtfully paced, and sweet as can be, this tale is ideal for reluctant and voracious readers alike, to be savored and shared between friends young, old, and in between.--Emilia Packard, Austin, TX

Young Katya spends her summers at Meema's Alaska cabin, where she's urged to put down her comics, get out, and make friends. Forced to take a trip into town, Katya is then hurried home by an incoming storm--and an accidental fall leaves her face to face with an enormous bear trapped under a fallen tree. After Meema and Katya free the bear, dubbed Kodi, it bonds to the young girl, but when an emergency forces her to fly home to the city, Kodi decides to set off, with the help of a young fisherman, after his new friend. Cullum's story has the heart and cartoony realism of a Pixar film, with the large, Baloo-like bear depicted with soft, friendly curves and a boop-able nose. Whimsical illustrations lend an extra lightness to the story, with splotchy watercolors, beautifully textured, filtering panels with a calming haze, especially those of the natural landscapes, which stand out in spectacular fashion. A sweet tale of friendship for those just learning how to make friends.