TOO LOOSE, TOO TIGHT, JUST RIGHT

A cub learns about opposites in this beginning-reader book based on newly unearthed sketches by the Berenstain Bears’ creators.

It’s snowing, and a bear who looks an awful lot like Stan and Jan Berenstain’s Brother Bear must get suited up before he can leave his tree house home to play outside. He tries on a comically large yellow sweater (“Too loose”) and then a comically small green one (“Too tight”) before slipping into a red one: “Just right!” Minimal text proceeds to capture other comparisons, including among three sleds (“Too long, “Too short,” “Just right!”) and, finally, among three mugs of cocoa (“Too hot,” “Too cold,” “Just right”), which Brother Bear samples indoors as Mama and Papa Bear look on, sipping from their own mugs. Mike Berenstain, who has carried on his parents’ mission following their deaths, discovered the sketches that became this book among their papers, and the illustrations, revamped by Mike, have a light-handed faithfulness to the elder Berenstains’ work. Of special interest to adults will be Mike’s letter to readers, which doesn’t just cover this book’s genesis; it also looks at the Berenstains’ early days spent trying to please exacting editor Ted Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss), who gave the Berenstain Bears their start. This recovered manuscript should be appreciated for more than its historical value. It’s a sweet and diverting intro to opposites with a loving family at its center.

To borrow a line from this book: “Just right.”