Bears in the Bath

It is bath time at the Bear house, and Big Brown Bear has everything ready. The tub is full. Soap, sponges, and towels all laid out. There is even a nice sailboat floating in the tub. But where are the little bears? Floppy Bear is a mess – dusty and smudged and covered in cobwebs. Fuzzy Bear is splattered with mud. Calico Bear is all lathered up with sweat. Yellow Bear is just plain stinky. All the little bears are grungy, but they do not want to take a bath. Big Brown Bear chases the little bears around the tub before finally managing to grab all of them. But getting them into the tub is a whole other thing.

Author Shirley Parenteau and illustrator David Walker have built quite a charming franchise with this and the earlier two Bears books. Parenteau tells her stories in a sing-songy rhythm and nearly perfect rhyme. Little ones will love having this read aloud over and over. David Walker has a magical touch in his enchanting illustrations, all pastel colors and as cute as colorful bears can possibly be, which is very, very cute.