Bear and Wolf

In a quiet story about noticing and the simple joy of company, a bear and wolf--both shades of gray with sloping snouts and almond-shaped eyes--encounter one another in the forest. After a startled moment, Bear and Wolf communicate calmly and affably: "Do you want to walk with me?" Bear asks Wolf. Salmieri works in a free and unmeasured style, rendering the forest in non-uniform shapes and loose, color-pencil lines, and dusting the winter white with dusky violet and rosy pink. On their journey, the animals smell the forest and hear the snow falling on their fur; they watch a snowy owl that also watches them. Bear and Wolf come to a "huge, flat circle of white," which Salmieri shows at a distance, capturing the expanse of the woods and the relative smallness of Wolf and Bear. They brush aside the snow to observe jewel-toned, sleeping fish. In a satisfying conclusion, Salmieri trades the chilly colors of winter for springtime pastels as Wolf and Bear meet again: "Bear and Wolf walked through the gentle breeze, using their eyes, and ears, and noses to take in the awakening woods." Ages 4-8. (Feb.)

Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

PreS-Gr 2--The story opens with readers positioned behind and a little above Bear's head as she gazes at falling snow, a circle of bare trees, and a small wolf in the distance. When the perspective reverses, viewers see that Bear is smallish as well. Highlighted with subtle strokes of pinks and blues, the snowfall creates an arresting wonderland. The narration, placed at the bottom of exquisite full-spread compositions, combines a third-person distance with moments of dialogue. Those used to conflict when two such notorious predators inhabit a story will soon relax: they both truly are, as Wolf explains it, "out for a walk to feel the cold under my paws, and to listen to the crunching of the snow as I walk." They proceed together. Salmieri's authorial debut reveals his thorough understanding of pacing and the interplay of words and pictures. Colored-pencil strokes create a lively energy in the creatures' fur and in the later view of the woods in a vibrant spring palette. Gouache and watercolor--and rubbed in pigment shaved from pencils--create softness and depth. Without comment, the companions take in dazzling, enlarged snowflakes; the patterns of a snowy owl; colorful fish asleep under the frozen lake. The call of nature pulls one to hibernation and the other to chasing caribou, but not before they exchange hope for a future (realized) encounter. VERDICT Without a whiff of didacticism, Salmieri shows readers how to appreciate beauty, invite friendship, express gratitude, let go, and walk in the world. An engaging read best shared one-on-one.--Wendy Lukehart, District of Columbia Public Library

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

A New York Times Editors' Choice A Capitol Choices Book of 2019 A Brain Pickings Best Children's Book of 2018 Winter 2017 - 2018 Kids Indie Next Pick! A Fatherly Best Children's Book of 2018 Selected for exhibition in the 2018 Society of Illustrators Original Art show "Just found the book we'll gift to every child we know!"—PBS
"Stunning, serene and philosophical"—Maria Russo, The New York Times
★ "Salmieri's authorial debut reveals his thorough understanding of pacing and the interplay of words and pictures. [...] Without a whiff of didacticism, Salmieri shows readers how to appreciate beauty, invite friendship, express gratitude, let go, and walk in the world. An engaging read best shared one-on-one."—Wendy Lukehart, District of Columbia Public Library, School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
★ "The two walk together, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of the forest in winter, all evoked in quietly powerful sensory language. Readers who have met Salmieri through his illustrations for Adam Rubin's hectic Dragons Love Tacos books may be surprised at the contemplative nature of this one. [...] With its air of nighttime mystery, this is one that readers will want to revisit again and again."—Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
"Hushed and lovely, this is a picture book to calm and inspire."—Meghan Cox Gurdon, The Wall Street Journal
"In a testament to Anaïs Nin's observation that 'it is a sign of great inner insecurity to be hostile to the unfamiliar, ' Bear and Wolf meet each other not with frightened hostility but with openhearted, compassionate curiosity. Their encounter is a shared question mark regarded with mutual goodwill and concern for, rather than fear of, the other."—Maria Popova, Brain Pickings
"In a satisfying conclusion, Salmieri trades the chilly colors of winter for springtime pastels as Wolf and Bear meet again: 'Bear and Wolf walked through the gentle breeze, using their eyes, and ears, and noses to take in the awakening woods.'"—Publishers Weekly
"Bear and Wolf is a quiet, meditative walk through a snowy forest with two friends who have in common a love of cold and silence. Salmieri's expressive illustrations lend an air of mystery and warmth to this spellbinding wintry stroll." —Hannah DeCamp, Avid Bookshop (Athens, GA)
". . . Bear & Wolf has all the makings of a modern classic. It's the Amos & Boris for the modern age." —Fatherly "a beautifully rendered story of friendship and the subtle rhythm of life when we are open to the world and to each other. [...] unreservedly recommended"—The Midwest Book Review
"Of the hundreds of picture books I've read in August, this is my favourite and I cannot wait to share it with students, art teachers, counselors and classroom teachers. It is a master class on writing that will be used as a mentor text for years to come. The artwork is the best I've seen by [Dan Salmieri] and the simple yet poignant storyline is sublime. It's a book about friendship, similarities and differences, connectedness, and curiosity. I LOVE IT! Buy this for a loved one, your classroom, your library, yourself...you won't regret it."—Kimbra Power, The Barefoot Librarian
"A sweet, gentle story celebrating new friendship and reveling in the glories of winter and its glistening white snow. Thoughtfully written and illustrated with a serene softness and varying perspectives, Bear and Wolf will make quite [an] impact on readers in its own, thoughtful, quiet way." —Michelle Sterling, Avery and Augustine
"This is Daniel's debut as author/illustrator and it couldn't be a more gorgeous glimpse of what he is capable of, and we look forward to following what he makes next." —The Reading Ninja