Papa and Me

The hot topic of ``recovered'' versus ``implanted'' memories receives mellow treatment in this unassuming Japanese import. As Papa Bear and his son fish along the river's edge, the cub asks, ``How do you know you're my father?'' Papa peers deep into his offspring's eyes: he knows, he says, because ``I can see all the memories we share in your eyes.'' He recites past events, but the little bear, unsurprisingly, doesn't remember the bath Papa gave him in his infancy nor other episodes from his babyhood. Gazing into Papa's eyes, the cub ``sees'' a few memories, but the moment is truly saved when two fish supply the bruins with an occasion they can both remember. Miyamoto's careful illustrations, rendered in a tri-tone palette of browns, grays and greens, resemble cut-linoleum prints in their combination of dense color and scratchy line work. With a few suggestive ripples on the surface of the river and the variegated colors of his multiform riverside flora, the artist creates just enough motion to balance his quiet compositions. Ages 4-8. (Dec.)