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Copycat Bear (2012)

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Mango the bird has a "ginormous" bear friend named Blue. To Mango's annoyance, Blue copies everything Mango does. "COPYCAT BEAR!" Mango cries. One day, Mango has had enough of Blue's copying and flies off in a huff. But once she's on her own, she finds herself thinking only of Blue.

Paperback

First published June 1, 2012

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Ellie Sandall

11 books9 followers

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5 stars
23 (13%)
4 stars
55 (31%)
3 stars
79 (44%)
2 stars
15 (8%)
1 star
4 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
Profile Image for Garrett.
583 reviews9 followers
January 16, 2018
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and Mango the bird needs to get over herself. If I'D been Blue the bear, I'd have copied a goshawk and eaten Mango the bird.
Profile Image for Amanda.
3,891 reviews44 followers
June 20, 2014
LOVED the illustrations; wanted to have more for the ending though--didn't feel like the copycating was necessarily solved. Did Bear learn his lesson? Didn't really feel like ignoring him for a bit would teach him a lesson of any sort. The ending was really unsatisfying for me.
Profile Image for Book Grocer.
1,181 reviews39 followers
September 9, 2020
Purchase Copycat Bear here for just $7!

This delightful book focuses on friendship. Blue frustrates Mango by trying to copy her, but once they are apart, Mango realises how much she enjoys Blue's company. Sandall has written and illustrated this wonderful book, bringing to life the concept of appreciating our differences and being able to become friends again after a disagreement. This is a sweet book that will make a great addition to any home library.

Alicia - The Book Grocer
Profile Image for Melanie Hetrick.
4,732 reviews52 followers
February 13, 2020
Blue the Bear and Mango the Bird are friends. Blue sometimes irritates Mango by copying her every action. When Blue crashes to the ground while trying to fly from the tree, Mango decides she's had enough and flies off on her own, leaving Blue downcast under the tree, without his best friend. While she's gone, Mango realizes that it's lonely without her best friend. She returns to where she left Blue to find him, still there.

A good story for storytime. Children will enjoy predicting Blue's next move.
Profile Image for Mattison Churchwell.
41 reviews1 follower
February 12, 2021
This is an amazing book for a read-aloud! The reader can really get into the characters and act it out for the children. I also like that this book teaches about friendship and how you will miss your friend if you are mean to them. I like that this book illustrates differences, and how we can all be friends even though we aren't the same. The illustrations are fantastic as well. This is a great book for a classroom and I highly recommend it.
Profile Image for Jenna.
3,833 reviews49 followers
July 14, 2017
A cute book and adorable drawings. The Preschool Storytime group was, as usual, much younger than the targeted age group, so they didn't get as much out of this book as I would've hoped. But it did have a sweet ending, if a tad abrupt.
Profile Image for Amy.
3,602 reviews33 followers
April 26, 2019
I love this author but this book was not one of them. My 5-year old daughter didn't like how mean the bird was to her best friend and I have to agree. I didn't like how the bird spoke or treated her "best friend" and in the end, whatever message was trying to be taught just ended up falling flat.
Profile Image for Trinity Smith.
40 reviews
February 12, 2021
This book is about a yellow bird named Mango. Mango is furious that her copycat bear, Blue, does everything she does! Mango flies off one day, and all alone, she wonders... only of blue. What will happen next!? I enjoyed reading this book and I think that young kids will as well!
Profile Image for Jennifer.
5,138 reviews64 followers
August 1, 2018
A great discussion starter on differences. Beautiful illustrations, though the ending felt abrupt and unsatisfying to me.
16 reviews
September 16, 2019
This is a cute book that Dr. Sloan shared with us. This book would be good to use with children to show that it is ok to have somebody look up to you and copy you.
Profile Image for Beth.
4,333 reviews19 followers
October 8, 2019
Simple and pretty with broad humor for young kids (almost three?) to appreciate as bear tries to copy a small bird. Peace is restored at the end.
Profile Image for Jessica.
5,319 reviews5 followers
October 31, 2025
Mango is a bird who is friends with blue, the bear. But blue copies. everything mango does. very sweet story was beautiful illustrations.
Profile Image for K.L. Bernard.
Author 1 book22 followers
August 16, 2014
Animals can do a lot of things. Fish can swim and live underwater. Snakes can slither across the ground without legs. Cheetah's can run really fast. Birds can fly by spreading their wings. Bears can do everything birds can do. NOT! Bears can't fly or nest in a tree, at least that's what Mango, a little orange bird, is trying to explain to Blue, a giant blue bear, that seems to be having an identity crisis.

Blue and Mango are the best of friends. They go everywhere together. Unfortunately, for both Blue and Mango, Blue copies everything Mango does. Mango then challenges the giant bear to stop mimicking her. It doesn't work. Blue follows Mango still copying everything except for one. When Blue tries to fly from the top of a tree he falls to the ground with a great big OOF! Mango is very upset and flies away. Will these two best friends ever speak to one another again? You'll have to read the story to see.

This story is a great opportunity to open up dialogue on the differences between animals and how they live and thrive. Colorful swatches shaped like leaves and feathers really accent the blues in Blue and the oranges in Mango, thus creating lively pictures little readers will love examining. Parents and teachers can use this wonderful story to teach opposites, colors, and behavior. It is also a good tool for parents to discuss mimicking good habits and how children can model after them. Toddlers can follow their parents good eating habits, cleaning habits and behavioral habits.
Profile Image for Kristina Silverbears.
Author 1 book1 follower
September 19, 2014
A fine enough story about friends Blue the bear and Mango the bird. Although it ends well, I was disappointed to not read anything about Blue's feelings during their disagreement. That information would have provided more perspective for some of the child readers who could, perhaps, then use this book more effectively to understand a problem in their own close relationships.

Perhaps my disfavor here is the result of my having twins, who are, by necessity often in each other's company, and therefore more likely to need a little alone time than some other children might be, but even so, Blue has not been given much emotional depth.
Profile Image for Erin Buhr.
Author 4 books41 followers
March 4, 2014
Mango the Bird and Blue the Bear are friends in this sweet book with beautiful, bright illustrations. Mango and Bird go everywhere together and do everything together. Everything that Mango does, Blue tries to do too. Blue tries to imitate everything Mango does, from wing flapping to singing to flying. Mango finally gets frustrated and flies away, only to realize that she misses her friend. Little ones will laugh at silly Blue and older siblings might enjoy the discussion of someone copying behaviors.
Profile Image for Cheryl Malandrinos.
Author 4 books72 followers
August 30, 2014
This delightful book focuses on friendship. Blue frustrates Mango by trying to copy her, but once they are apart, Mango realizes how much she enjoys Blue's company. Sandall has written and illustrated this wonderful book, bringing to life the concept of appreciating our differences and being able to become friends again after a disagreement. The soft, warm colors are as comforting as when Mango snuggles up to Blue at the end of the story.

This is a sweet book that will make a great addition to any home library.

Profile Image for Miss Pippi the Librarian.
2,789 reviews59 followers
November 7, 2013
Mango and Blue are friends. Mango doesn't want to be mimicked by Blue, but Blue just wants to be with his friend.

The artwork is very eye-catching. The colors bold and fun. It's easy to see the characters as they go through their day together. The font mimics the feelings of Mango and Blue with large and small sizes of the words. The story is funny with a dash of caring at the end.

Reviewed from a library copy.
Profile Image for Monique.
412 reviews4 followers
August 19, 2014
Mango is a bird and her friend Blue, is a bear. Blue likes to do everything that Mango does, hence Mango's nickname for her friend - Copycat Bear. Frustration arises over their difficulties and Mango flies away but soon realizes that she misses Blue when he can't follow her. Soft illustrations bring a whimsical atmosphere to this story that emphasizes that differences shouldn't matter in friendships.
Profile Image for Alison.
1,024 reviews3 followers
January 13, 2014
Bear copies a lot of things that Mango does, trying to be just like his friend. This annoys Mango at first but in the end she sees that Bear is just trying to be like her because he enjoys her company. A book about friendship that would probably be good for siblings who are annoyed at each other for copying behaviors.
Profile Image for Erin.
4,661 reviews58 followers
August 10, 2016
I found the illustrations beautiful and the story charming. Despite Mango's perpetual frustration at Blue's copycatting, he eventually relents when he realizes that Blue's friendship is more important. There's nothing like learning to be kind to each other, even if we're a little annoyed.
Profile Image for Teri.
1,361 reviews
December 30, 2016
I didn't really like this story, because I felt the bird was mean to the bear. By the time the bird figures out he was acting like a jerk, he doesn't seem sorry enough. The majority of the book seemed so negative.
Profile Image for Debbie.
49 reviews
December 11, 2013
Fantasy. A cute book about how differences only make friends better. A good one to encourage friendship.
Profile Image for Samantha.
4,985 reviews60 followers
August 28, 2014
Bear and bird are the best of friends, but Bird gets fed up with Bear copying everything Bird does.

Artwork alone makes this one to check out. PreK-2.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews