This small-format, morality-tale picture book from van Lieshout, her fourth in this distinct style, starts innocently enough. Three young polar-bear friends are enjoying the day when they discover tracks in the snow (the book is a sea of snow white, with only the fewest necessary strokes of black and green, plus a flash of red). Following the tracks, they come upon a scarlet scarf, evidently dropped by the track-maker. Tumble, the brave little bear, sniffs and pokes and then claims the scarf. Tumble, the selfish little bear, won’t share: “It’s mine!” he fumes when his friends ask for a touch. “Besides, you don’t know how to use this…this…wubbie!” What saves this book from being a quick, didactic slap on the wrist is Tumble’s over-the-top brattiness; you’ve just got to believe he’s in for a fall, which he gets but good. As a cautionary work of spare elegance, the book may not have much lasting power. As a poke in the eye of those who don’t share, it delivers a measure of very innocent satisfaction. (Picture book. 3-6)
