IT'S MINE

Baby Bear learns an important lesson in sharing.

Lulu comes to play at Baby Bear's house. The two friends look identical—small and tan and furry—except that Lulu has a tiny polka-dot bow on top of her head. The play date begins with a game of tigers for Lulu and Baby Bear and Rory, Baby Bear's stuffed tiger (bright orange and palpably fuzzy, for a touch-and-feel element). Baby Bear's rumbling tummy means it's time for a snack; he hurries to the kitchen and returns with two pawfuls of food. But he doesn't like what he sees: Lulu is playing with Rory. A tug of war follows, and Lulu ends up crying. Mommy intervenes, suggesting a trip to the park. "I'll bring Rory along with me," she says. At the park, Lulu at first sits on the seesaw and Baby Bear on the swings. Then after a while, Lulu offers to push Baby Bear, and his sadness melts away as he swings higher and higher. He gets an idea. He rushes to Mommy and brings Rory back, offering him to Lulu, who suggests that they push Rory together. But it's Mommy who makes the best suggestion of all. She pushes all three of them, sharing the swing. Corderoy's admirably simple storytelling is matched by the clarity and boldness of Pedler's illustrations, nicely composed and devoid of extraneous elements.

Sweet and useful, if duplicative and lacking the crystalline emotional depths of Lisa Jahn-Clough's My Friend and I (1999).