This Book Is Too Small

This small pair of Belgian imports enchants without a single word of text. In the first book, a rapidly growing white bear is trapped within the pages' borders. An accommodating mole erases part of the frame and helps the bear out, and the two scamper off. In the second, darkness--a wash of blue--slowly descends on the newfound friends. They can't push it back and they can't blow it away, but eventually they find a light, enlarge it and comfortably bask together in its glow. Using a device reminiscent of Harold and the Purple Crayon , Wouters ingeniously makes the surface of her pages part of these simple and comforting scenarios. The endearing heroes, outlined in black and sketchily watercolored, are a perfect mix of animal and child, and are sure to appeal to the very young. Demonstrating once again that less is frequently more, these ingenuous books possess a singular charm. Ages 2-6. (Jan.)