reSchool-After Alex Bear breaks his mother's favorite honey bowl while preparing breakfast for her, he fears that she will no longer love him. She reassures her cub that she will always love him, even if he has a raucous pillow fight, spills paint on the baby, forgets to close the refrigerator door, and dumps oatmeal on his head. The mother bear tells Alex that she will always love him, but that he must pick up the feathers, bathe the baby, etc. When she discovers the broken bowl, she is disappointed, but she hugs her son, and he runs to his bedroom and makes a new bowl out of paper and paint. This picture book subtly examines behavior, remorse, forgiveness, and accountability. Alex is truly sad and sorry for breaking his mother's bowl; the mother portrays real emotions when she sees it, but she does not dwell on her disappointment. Many children and adults will relate to the situation portrayed in Lewis's breezy text. Ives's colored-pencil illustrations reveal a cheery home, one in which a tea kettle bubbles on the stove and dishes dry in a rack on a tidy countertop. Alex is a lucky bear, for in addition to his parents and baby sister, his grandmother lives with his family, and she is the one who cleans up the broken bowl.
