Wash-a-Bye Bear

PreS-Gr 1—When Bear gets too sticky, glittery, sandy, dirty, and stinky, it's off to the washing machine for him. "Be brave, Bear!" Flora tells him. As he spins around (with all the dirty socks), the child remembers all the good times that got him so dirty. These escapades are recounted in rhyming italic text-breakfast smears, melted ice-cream tears, sticky sweets, winter showers, marker scribbles, and much more. The illustrations in this section mimic the front of a washing machine. They are a perfect circle with the text on suds placed at the top and bottom of the page with socks floating at the edge of the scenes to reinforce the effect. When Bear is finally clean and dry, he no longer looks, smells, tastes, or feels like he should to sad Flora, so she spends the rest of the day doing things with Bear (again recounted in rhyming italic text)-teatime fun, backyard games, and art projects-that will make him himself again. When it's time for Flora to have her bath, she wonders if Bear will still love her when she's all washed and clean, which, of course, he does. Docherty breathes new life into a familiar tale via fun-to-read text with clever placement, homey illustrations with ingenious design, and an overall feeling of love and warmth. Pair it with Helen Oxenbury's Tom and Pippo and the Washing Machine (S & S, 1988) for a super clean storytime.—Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH