makes a friend
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
bob shea
Abrams Books for Young Readers
New York
For Edward, a for-real friend.
The illustrations in this book were created in Adobe Fresco with complete disregard for time.
Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for and may be obtained from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-1-4197-7155-2
eISBN 979-8-88707-186-2
Text and illustrations © 2025 Bob Shea Book design by Heather Kelly
Published in 2025 by Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of ABRAMS. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.
Printed and bound in China 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
Abrams Books for Young Readers are available at special discounts when purchased in quantity for premiums and promotions as well as fundraising or educational use. Special editions can also be created to specification. For details, contact specialsales@abramsbooks.com or the address below.
Abrams® is a registered trademark of Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
Hey, gimme a push. This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
Be careful, I’m a for-real bear. Scary, right?
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
No way! I’m a for-real bear expert, and you are NOT a for-real bear. This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
GotOhyeah?honey?any
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No.
That’sbecauseIateit.
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Bears climb trees.
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Betcha can’t climb a tree.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
Betcha I can.
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But cover your eyes—bears don’t like to show off.
Climb, climb, climb.
This tree sure is tall.
Hey, I can see my house from way up here.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
TA-DA!
Up and back, lickety-split.
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That proves nothing. You could be a super-round squirrel. Let’s see you hibernate like a for-real bear.
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Pfft . . . so easy. I hibernate like five times a day.
Watch.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
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Oh my goodness! What month is it? Did I sleep through spring?
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Climbs trees, hibernates— your story checks out! What else do bears do?
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You tell me, you’re the for-real bear expert. They find food right here in the woods. It’s called foraging. C’mon!
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Foraging is delicious!
What else do I do?
Like a ton of cool stuff! Follow me!
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Hey! I didn’t know for-real bears liked riding bikes!
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Bike rides are your second-favorite thing, right after playing Pumpkin King.
What’sPumpkinKing?PumpkinKing?
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BEHOLD!
I AM THE PUMPKIN KING! BENEVOLENT SMASHER OF PUMPKINS!
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I AM ALSO THE PUMPKIN KING AND THAT OTHER THING YOU SAID!!
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That was great! What’s next?
Wanna go swimming?
For-real bear fur gets kinda hot.
Wait, do bears even like swimming? Well, do I? Hey, what’s wrong?
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
I . . . I don’t know if you like swimming.
I’m not really a for-real bear expert, I only know the regular bear things that everyone knows.
I just said a bunch of fun stuff for us to do together.
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It’s okay. I also have something shocking to share.
Look, there’s no good way to say this, but I’m not just a for-real bear. I’m pretty sure I’m maybe also a turtle.
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A WHAT? This day has been a roller coaster. I don’t even know what to believe anymore.
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The worst part is that we’ll never know if bears like swimming. Which sounds like a really fun thing to do.
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Well, I may not know if bears like swimming, but you know what I do know?
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Turtles sure do!
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
The Pumpkin King thing is true though, right? This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
FOR-REAL BEAR FACTS
• An adult male black bear can weigh up to 600 pounds, or 100 bearsuit turtles.
• Bears are really smelly. It’s true.
• If you see a grizzly bear, you should play dead.
• I f you see a black bear, make yourself big and scary.
• If you see a bear wearing overalls and playing the banjo, clap along and dance.
• Bears spend the summer gathering pizza to prepare for hibernation. That’s what I would do, anyway.
This
• Bears are apex predators, which means they aren’t afraid of anything. Except spiders, because spiders are so gross.
is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
• Bears can talk about flannel shirts for hours and you have to act interested because they’re bears.
• Bears think you’re pretty neat.
