Bob Is the Biggest, Strongest, and Smartest
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected 24 Feb 2026
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- USD 4.99
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- Pre-Order
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- USD 4.99
Publisher Description
A boastful bear learns how to be a good listener and friend in this endearing, funny picture book by the author of Truman.
Everyone knows that Bob is the biggest, strongest, and smartest bear in the world . . . because he tells them so, over and over again. No one can question him because Bob does all the talking. That is, until the day Bill comes along. Bill isn’t big or strong, but he asks lots of questions of the creatures around him. He’s interested in everyone, and soon, all the animals are so busy getting to know one another, they stop noticing poor Bob. Until—Bill does! But is Bob finally ready to have a real conversation, one that includes both talking and listening?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this emotionally generous picture book, burly blue bear Bob feels that he's "the biggest, strongest, and smartest bear in the whole wide world," something he constantly repeats to the other forest inhabitants. An image of the ursine figure reading a book upside down confirms it's an oversell, but "because Bob did all the talking," notes Reidy (Group Hug), no one questions him. When bespectacled mammal Bill arrives, there's a definite vibe shift. Mixed-media cartooning by Hodgson (Once a Wasteland) shows Bill easily and authentically befriending the woodland community by asking questions, listening to and engaging with the answers, and showing curiosity about others' perspectives (hanging upside down with a bat, he asks, "Does the blood rush to your head?"; "Yeah!" says the bat. "But you get used to it"). Suddenly sidelined, Bob dismisses him and tries to spread discord. When the two finally meet, though, and Bill shows genuine interest in the bear's workout routines, "Bob felt good. Really good!"—and is even inspired to ask an inaugural question about someone else. The story's tidily phrased moral ("Friends get to know friends") lands on a truth: genuine curiosity builds connection far more powerfully than self-promotion ever could. Ages 4–8.
