BROWN BEAR, WHITE BEAR

After vying for a young girl’s affections, two teddy bears finally learn that friendship is better than rivalry. When Alice’s grandmothers each give her a bear, they argue about which will be Alice’s favorite. Alice loves both bears, but they don’t love each other—the grandmothers’ quarrel soon becomes their own. They sink to new lows in their jealousy, until finally their antics affect Alice, waking her up at night and making terrible messes. So Alice separates them, placing White Bear in the closet and Brown Bear high on a shelf. But White Bear is afraid of the dark and Brown Bear is afraid of heights. At this point, the story devolves predictably, the two bears bonding together in adversity and coexisting happily ever after. The gently humorous illustrations compensate for the lack of textual subtlety, however. Hardy’s soft, subdued tones allow him to add plenty of detail to his artwork, with brighter colors drawing readers’ eyes toward the focal points. He masterfully portrays facial expression, especially on the two bears. Don’t miss the endpapers, which richly deserve perusal. (Picture book. 4-8)