Bear Hair

Riffing on the title words and their homophones, Mack’s simple, recombinatory narration yields comedic results in this raucous work. After a round-eyed brown bear discovers an electric-blue wig on the ground, “hair on bear” quickly becomes “hare on bear” with the arrival of a fuzzy pink bunny who steals the hairpiece, leaving behind a “bare bear.” As tongue-twisting text proceeds through other possible orderings of the four rhyming words, the pair battle for the hair. Flatly colored minimalist backdrops place all the attention on Bear and Hare, capturing their furry selves with hundreds of individually drawn lines. After both animals have managed to sit on the prop (and on each other), Bear gains the upper hand and two new words—“tear” and “share”—are introduced for a friendship-producing conclusion. The duo’s sustained physical humor gives this heterograph-driven title a pleasing sense of mirth. Ages 4–8. (June)