When You Meet a Bear on Broadway (Melanie Kroupa Books)
PreSchool-Grade 1—A wispy-haired young girl dressed in a blue coat, orange-and-red striped stockings, and a beret takes charge of a lost baby bear. With the staunch, internalized voice of a mother, the heroine calms him ("Hush-a-bit, Little Bear. So we can think"), asks questions, and looks for his mama. They come upon a park and a big tree to climb. In a heartfelt spread, Little Bear cries "Ma-maaa!" from the highest branch and can be heard throughout town, beckoning his mother's return. The sketchy lines of the city, drawn in pen and ink and watercolor with little variation in value, create a flat New York streetscape, yet the sole emphasis on the characters and natural elements adds to the reassuring overtones and rhythms of the text. Short phrases make the story flow. The baby bear's infantlike talk will charm the youngest children, but for an urban lost-and-found story with a little more drama, try Alexis Deacon'sBeegu(Farrar, 2003).—Sara Paulson-Yarovoy, American Sign Language and English Lower School PS 347, New York CityEND