This Book Is Too Small: 2

Little Bear's rapid growth presents a problem until his friend Little Mole finds a solution.

PreSchool-- Simplicity has a certain charm, and this wordless book is certainly simple. But is that enough? A baby bear grows too big to be contained on the page, struggles, and is rescued by a tiny mole who pulls him through the border onto a two-page spread. The illustrations are sketched with touches of color--a white bear on a green background with a yellow-and-orange pacifier and a gray mole with a pink nose and feet. Although pleasant and adequately executed fare, the story is too insignificant to be noteworthy. --Jody McCoy, Casady School, Oklahoma City
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This small pair of Belgian imports enchants without a single word of text. In the first book, a rapidly growing white bear is trapped within the pages' borders. An accommodating mole erases part of the frame and helps the bear out, and the two scamper off. In the second, darkness--a wash of blue--slowly descends on the newfound friends. They can't push it back and they can't blow it away, but eventually they find a light, enlarge it and comfortably bask together in its glow. Using a device reminiscent of Harold and the Purple Crayon , Wouters ingeniously makes the surface of her pages part of these simple and comforting scenarios. The endearing heroes, outlined in black and sketchily watercolored, are a perfect mix of animal and child, and are sure to appeal to the very young. Demonstrating once again that less is frequently more, these ingenuous books possess a singular charm. Ages 2-6.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.