The little bear of Else Minarik and Maurice Sendak proves himself to be as wistful and tender a little creature as exists in the child's library. In this episode, little bear makes friends with a child named Emily. With their friends, a duck, a cat, an owl, and a hen, they play all through the happy summer. Even when Emily's doll breaks an arm the pleasure the group finds in each other's company is not diminished. Only the departure of Emily brings tears to Little Bear who is consoled by his mother with his thought that, at least, he can write to her. Pathetic fallacies abound here, but somehow in the hands of this author-illustrator team, they merely compound the charm of the story.

This is the third book about Little Bear. All his old friends are back-Owl, Cat, Duck, and Hen-and a new friend has come for the summer-a little girl named Emily. Emily has her doll, Lucy, with her, and she promptly introduces Lucy to Little Bear. The three get along wonderfully, and when summer ends, Emily finds the perfect parting gift for her friend.