It's a cute story about an unlikely friendship between a bear and a duck, showing that we can be friends with those who are different from ourselves and often find a lot in common with each other after all. You also get a smidge of a science lesson as winter draws near and Bear is feeling the need to hibernate and Duck is feeling the pull of flying south for the winter. It would be a cute story to read toward the beginning of the school year, I think.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for providing me with a requested review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A very loving and considerate friendship between two unlikely beings. Their friendship was unlikely, but so easily sparked and full of love and kindness. They were sympathetic to each other's way of life and supportive when the chance arose to reassure the other that their differences were a wonderful part of their lives and not reasons for them to stop being friends. Celebrating differences is so important especially for the age group that this book was written for. Our differences, no matter what they might be, are reasons to learn and discover new things instead of reasons to shut out people and to stop being friends with them.
A simple book written for a complex theme.
Very well written, beautifully illustrated, and a lovely ending to the story!
I also loved the art on the covers of the book, the footprints of the Goose and Bear. It was so endearing to see their prints together all over the pages!

<i>*Thank you to the publishers; Deeper Well Publishers, the author; Andrew Wald, and Netgalley for my free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.</i>

A sweet story about an unlikely friendship between a bear and a goose. They meet by chance at a lake in the woods, and after discovering they share many interests, they become fast friends, and spend all summer together. When fall comes, the bear starts getting sleepy, moving slower, and wanting to find a nice place to hibernate, while the goose looks longingly at the other geese flying south to spend the winter in a warmer place. The friends realize they must part, but vow to meet again in the spring. Will they be able to keep their promise?
The themes of friendship and melancholy of parting for a while echo a child's experience of missing school friends over the summer, making the story very relatable. The artwork is cute and very expressive, and really goes well with the text.

#ASurprisingFriendship #NetGalley

While a cute story and adorable illustrations, I couldn't help but laugh from page 1. It reads:
"... a playful Canadian goose, loved swimming in the pond."
Now if you've ever met a real Canadian goose before you will have likely encountered their massive attitude problem. These geese are not polite or nice at all (generally). Instead the geese are vicious, mean, and will literally attack you if you invade their space (even if it's next to your car or on the pathway). So while I understand what Andrew Wald was going for here in terms of showing that friendships can survive a time away from each other (over winter). I also must admit that I'm concerned some child will instantly think a wild goose makes for a great friend. I'm less concerned that a child will think of a wild bear as a friend; as if your small child is out in the woods alone and meets a bear I seriously wonder about your parenting skills (lol). But geese are found in the city, near water, etc. and so it's far more likely that a child might encounter one. So just make sure if you read this to a little one they know that the goose and bear are friends; but maybe not friends with humans the same way.

This is a simple story that sends a great message. It's generic and so safe for a gift for any child or family. And I love the message that even if you are apart for some time that doesn't mean you stop being friends and cannot reconnect in the future.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

A really sweet story about a bear and a goose who become firm friends whilst the weather was warmer. As the weather got colder, they needed to part ways for a while but they soon got to see each other again. The illustrations are really sweet. Thank you for the opportunity to review this book.

A loving and caring story about friendship between Zoey the goose and Henry the bear. The Illustrations are beautiful.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the eARC

This is a delightful story. It is about a friendship you might not expect between Henry a Black Bear and Zoey a Canadian Goose. If your child enjoys animals and being outside these are only two reasons they will enjoy this story. Another reason is the friendship that develops. The story, in general, is a sweet reason to enjoy this story too. They have fun adventures together while getting to know each other. They learn how they are different and accept each other for who they are. They are willing to learn from one another and are kind toward each other. They want to spend time together. The watercolor illustrations are stunning and help tell the story wonderfully. We recommend this story for your family and having it in a school library is a great idea too. It teaches a nice lesson of acceptance and friendship in a welcoming way. We might not expect these animals to become friends, but they do and it is wonderful to see. There is also some learning about hibernation. Little ones through elementary school will enjoy this story.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a cute book about friendship. The message is important and kids will like the unique friendship between the bear and the goose. The pictures are cute and not too over the top. They fit the story well.

"A Surprising Friendship" is a story written by Andrew Wald about an unlikely friendship between a bear and a canadian goose. My family and I loved this story! We enjoyed learning a little about the different types of animals and their behavior. We also enjoyed following along as they play throughout the story. The characters were kind, gentle and fun. It was a sweet story with a great ending and more importantly a strong message that encourages kindness, compassion and diversity. We loved this book and I would strongly recommend it to families!

A Surprising Friendship managed to made me cry a little and how happy those tears! I love the soft power the children's books have and this little gem was so very beautiful. Reading about the unusual friendship between a goose and a bear was a great journey. This could teach a lot to children (and to adults as well!). The illustrations are beautiful and the ending will stay with me for a long time.

What a lovely book! The storytelling and illustrations were enchanting, and the message kind and simple: the joys of friendship.

This was a really well written and beautifully illustrated children's book about friendship. I read this with my 5 year old and her only complaint was that she doesn't like geese because they're noisy haha, but other than that we both enjoyed the story.

This was a nice story of an unlikely friendship between a bear and a goose who have to go their separate ways during winter but both hope they will see each other again come spring.

My favourite page was when Zoey asked if bears ate geese! The illustrations were nice and the story was cute but it felt like the word count vs the age of the intended audience was a bit out and could probably have done with being reduced slightly.

Overall a nice story to read with your child

A bear who needs to hibernate and a goose who needs to fly south fast become friends. This is an adorable story of friendship over one of their shared favorite things to do and they push off their important needs of hibernation and migration to spend as much time with each other as they can.

Zoey and Henry look very different.

Yet, their ability to set their differences aside, sets them to enter a friendship of a lifetime.

Andrew Wald's story and Tara Hannon's drawings bring joy, happiness and hope into these pages.

Showing us that friendship can greet us at any time in all forms, colours and shapes and you just have to keep the door open for it.

The illustrations appear to be watercolor on textured paper which adds a lot of depth to the story! This is a story of an unlikely friendship and highlight the benefit of not judging someone by the way they look or who they are until you get to know them. A very touching story!

Adorable book about a diverse friendship. I absolutely love the illustration style. Water color or copics ? On textures paper, it looks great. I will be reading this to my son often. Thank you.

This is such a sweet book. It's all about friendship and diversity. Zoey is a playful Canadian goose who loves swimming in a beautiful pond way up in northern Canada. It refreshes her as it's hot in the July sun.

One day Zoey encounters a black bear named Henry rustling around inside a blackberry bush. Startled she asks if bears eat geese making him laugh and assuring her that no, no... no worries about that. He tells her he mostly likes to eat berries and fish. Zoey invites him into the pond to join her for a swim and Henry excitedly accepts. He jumps in making a huge splash! Thus begins a wonderful friendship between the two. They become kindred spirits.

The rest of the summer they play in the pond together, laugh, and daily hang out. Their bond of friendship grows stronger and stronger each passing day.

Fall quickly arrives and Henry starts to yawn and become lethargic, hardly able to move. He notices that Zoey is gazing more and more up into the sky as she watches her friends fly south because of the temperature changes.

They both come to the realization that they must do what nature intends them to do. Henry hibernates and Zoey takes flight and heads south. They make plans to meet again once Spring returns and when finally it arrives they resume their coveted relationship once more.

The soft watercolour illustrations are beautiful and they animate the text. The book is a celebration of diversity and shows "how differences and obstacles can be overcome with a willingness to discover what we have in common with others." Themes highlighted are: acceptance, kindness and friendship. I highly recommend this heartwarming book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Deeper Well Publishing for a digital ARC of A Surprising Friendship by Andrew Wald in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is such a sweet story about Zoey the Canadian goose and Henry the Black bear who meet in a secluded area in northern Canada. The two friends are separated with the arrival of colder weather but meet up again when the weather warms. Their differences are highlighted with acceptance. Its a beautiful story about friendship and diversity.

This is such a cute children's picture book! It contains an endearing story of an unlikely friendship between a goose and a bear, who bond in a secluded pond in northern Canada, "far from any people." With the cold seasons approaching, the two friends are separated when and the bear needs to hibernate and the goose needs to fly south to a warmer climate, however they both happily return to their pond to resume their friendship when the weather warms up. This book can be used to teach children to recognize that the possibilities and benefits of friendship are endless.