Bank Street College of Education Best Book of the Year  This simple and endearing story about friends learning to understand each other's differences is filled with author/illustrator Suzanne Bloom's gentle humor and trademark pastel illustrations. Sometimes Bear likes quiet time by himself. But his friend Fox has a very different idea of what "quiet" means. Can Bear's quiet aloneness and Fox's noisy togetherness ever result in a satisfying compromise?    "This title offers a winning combination of earnestness and flippancy, sweetness, and saltiness. Readers will gain insight into the rewards of contemplation and quiet. The book will inspire rich discussions about what it means to be alone and together and what the experience of "alone togetherness" might mean for friends." — School Library Journal