Horn Book (Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

Annoyed that her bear friend Blue keeps copying her, bird Mango avoids him by flying away, only to realize she misses him and wants to be friends again. Pleasing patterns and textures, along with the contrast between the large blue bear and the small orange bird, lend the story visual appeal. Unfortunately, the characters aren't very engaging, and their conflict is never actually resolved.

Kirkus Reviews

An intelligently designed picture book that patently delivers themes of diversity, tolerance and self-acceptance. Blue, a "ginormous" blue bear, tries to copy everything his orange-colored bird friend, Mango, does. But when Blue inadvertently ruins Mango's nest and then nearly squashes her when he tries to fly, Mango has had enough. She soars away to be on her own, only to find that her solitude doesn't fulfill her as friendship does. The gray-colored type of the story's text, the contrasting colors of Blue and Mango, and the variously colored letters spelling the title on its cover underscore one of the book's themes-- diversity. The numerous double-page spreads laced with expansive white space visually emphasize another--the wide-open mindset of tolerance. The story arc follows these visual clues as Mango tires of her solitude and returns to find Blue, snuggling down into his fur when she does. Claiming him as "My copycat bear," she makes readers understand that she has accepted him for who he is, annoying quirks and all. The final endpaper delivers one more message--that of self-acceptance. Blue, who has always accepted his proclivity to try to do bird things, is shown "helping" Mango as she plucks worms from the ground. A charming story with overt but entirely worthwhile messages. (Picture book. 3-6)

School Library Journal (Fri Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 2013)

PreS-Gr 2 Mango the bird has a close but complicated friendship with an enormous bear named Blue. He copies everything she does-he flaps his paws, tries to live in the tree, and even sings (though it comes out as more of a roar). A frustrated Mango decides to end this behavior by showing that she can fly-and nearly gets squashed by Blue, who claims he can do it, too. Colorful, textured illustrations with a collage of patterns and plenty of white space showcase these two endearing creatures, and children will find it easy to empathize with them even if they have aggravating copycats in their own lives. Mango flies off and leaves a fallen Blue behind, but ultimately she misses him too much to stay away. She explains on her return that, even though birds and bears are different, they can still be best friends. It's not clear that Blue will now be his own bear, but there's relief knowing that these two are going to try to work things out together. Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library, MA