Bear’s Big Bottom by Steve Smallman (review)

In this rhyming story, Bear’s exceptionally large derriere causes his smaller woodland friends no end of trouble, from sending them airborne off the teeter-totter to depleting the pool water (“The pool was emptied with one splash, because of Bear’s big bottom”). The final straw is his inadvertent squashing of Squirrel’s birthday cake, which causes his pals to lose their patience and which prompts Bear to run away and hide in shame. When his penitent friends go looking for him, they find instead a fox, who “tried to bite their bottoms!” The critters call out to Bear for help but his rear is stuck in a hollow tree. Bear perseveres, though, and drags the tree along with him, thus scaring off the fox (“A monster!”) and saving the day. The story, told in verse that clips along at a gallop, may be as slight as Bear’s bottom is large, but youngsters will likely overlook that deficit in favor of enthusiastically chiming in on the word “bottom,” which—let’s face it—is just plain fun to say. Yarlett’s comical illustrations feature attractive woodsy tones of brown, red, and turquoise against a creamy background. Frequent handwritten exclamations (“Look out, Mouse!”; “My poor cake!”) and tiny visual details (the poolside mouse wearing a scuba mask, the mustache-sporting snail) add richness, and the gentle stylization of the animal figures keeps the look classy. Pair this with Black’s Chicken Cheeks (BCCB 1/09) or Manushkin’s The Tushy Book (BCCB 5/09) for a humorous paean to posteriors, or, for bonus points with the preschool crowd, partner it with a clip of the Walt Disney short “In the Bag” featuring trash-collecting, booty-bumping bears.