There's a Hole in My Bucket

This winsome if slight adaptation of a German folk song opens as Bear discovers that the flowers in front of his cave are wilting fast. He sets out to water them but his bucket has a hole, and when Hedgehog offers to help him fix it, the results are predictable. Observant readers will notice that a storm is brewing, and, indeed, it is a much-needed rainfall that drenches the flowers and solves the hole-in-the-bucket dilemma--at least temporarily. An appealing, decidedly inquisitive cast of woodland animals and insects peeks out from the Schuberts' (Amazing Animals) softly shaded double-page illustrations, and the bumbling Bear and Hedgehog appear particularly endearing. At the end of the story, the ""revived"" flowers look much the same as they do at the beginning--an inconsistency that may trouble some readers, but one that is eclipsed by the cheery images and tone. Ages 2-6. (Apr.)