GRIZZLY BEARS

Sloppy, careless work from this normally reliable nonfiction stalwart. Gibbons illustrates her introduction to the grizzly’s habits and life cycle with splashy watercolors in which three-month-old cubs (which supposedly weigh but five pounds, though they look as big as beagles) are the same size after two years. Two nearly identical maps convey the same information about the grizzly’s past and present ranges, and several superimposed labels are either obscured by bright color behind them or contradict information in the accompanying narrative. Moreover, though her bears are accurately shaped, the brushwork has a broad, paint-by-numbers look that fails to capture the texture of grizzly fur. Even Gibbons’s staunchest fans should find this bear-ly marginal offering a disappointment. (Picture book/nonfiction. 6-8)