Underwear! by Jenn Harney (review)

In this tightly rhymed story, little Bear comes bouncing out of his bath without a stitch on ("Bare bear") only to be thwarted by a stern parent: "Stop right there!/ You should be wearing underwear!!!" In an avoidant mood, Bear cheekily plays the "Under where?" game; when he's handed a "white pair. Tight pair" he uses it as costuming rather than for its intended purpose, including a scare. Finally bear parent has enough of the game and the little bear is headed bedward for a story, a tuck-in, a "Sleep tight," and one final underwear joke. Though the couplets are a little strained at times, their energetic staccato bounce makes for an entertaining readaloud, and the delaying tactics of the kid/cub will be very, very familiar. Sleek digital art combines a mid-mod palette with dramatic slashing linework on figures and in motion lines; the comic little bear and the creative art design that interweaves big, bold text with art for maximum vitality keep the impact humorous, even before you get to the versatile performance of the tighty whities. The repetition and simplicity make this suitable for enterprising early readers, but it's as a giggly, slightly counterproductive bedtime story that this will be most satisfying. DS