One Big Pair of Underwear

Two bears "who hate to share" fight over a pair of tighty whities (leaving one bear bare). A pattern is established: desirable items are presented to animals, but there are always more animals than there are items, leaving one animal upset. The rhymes follow familiar spelling patterns (e.g., -ack, -eal, -uck) and the goofy situations are made even goofier through Lichtenheld's digitally colored pencil illustrations.

Take one counting book, mix it with a comical tale of underwear-sharing, add some tongue-twisting rhymes, and soon there will be uncontrollable laughter. Two bears "who hate to share" fight over a single pair of tighty whities (leaving one bear bare). Next come three yaks...but there are only two bags of snacks. And so the pattern is established: desirable items (scooters, candy bars, jet skis, hockey sticks) are presented to a group of animals, but there's a catch: there are always more animals than there are items, leaving one animal upset. When twenty wily pigs figure out how to share ten playground slides, the bears reconsider the underwear-sharing, and all the animals figure out a way to make things fair for everyone. The rhymes follow familiar spelling patterns (including -ack, -eal, -ar, -at, -ook, and the nervous-making -uck), making this a perfect book for new readers (think Hop on Pop). The goofy situations are made even goofier through Lichtenheld's familiar and fabulous digitally colored pencil illustrations: it's hard to keep a straight face when cats are blowing up air mattresses or baboons are playing trombones. The final exuberant parade, and the quietly amusing endpapers, ensure that this will be a popular book for storyhours and independent reading alike. Who knew sharing could be so much fun? robin l. smith