JUST LIKE BOSSY BEAR

The caped and crowned little autocrat introduced in Bossy Bear (2007) hasn’t quite completed his reform. It’s still “GIMME THAT!” “GIMME THOSE!” “GET OUT OF MY WAY!”—until, that is, his best friend Turtle (who also sports a crown, though a smaller one) starts imitating him. Bossy Bear has an embarrassed epiphany that spurs him to model better behavior (though still of a bossy sort: “HAVE A GOOD MORNING!” “SLEEP TIGHT! DON’T LET THE BEDBUGS BITE!”), which, unrealistically or not, quickly has its intended effect on Turtle. Horvath pairs emphatic single lines of text to simply drawn views of these two preschooler stand-ins, who are usually suspended on monochromatic backgrounds. Stripped down, stingy of side detail and definitely purposive, the episode still delivers its message with a light touch. (Picture book. 4-6)