Hare and Bear

In each volume of this winsome quintet, lanky, rosy-cheeked Hare and his stocky pal Bear take turns using their trusty colored crayons to draw simple shapes that, spread after wordless spread, quickly and satisfyingly accumulate to become an airplane, a dinosaur, a tree and so forth. A colored box in the upper left corner of each spread isolates the latest shapes that Bear and his partner have added to the picture, providing readers with a step-by-step guide to making their own drawings. Once Hare and Bear have shaded in their drawing and crayoned a colorful backdrop, the artwork comes alive: the two fly off in their airplane, sail a blue sea in their boat and hitch a tire-swing to their tree. Teamwork is subtly emphasized: in one image Bear lifts his lop-eared buddy high enough to draw a tall dinosaur's head, while in another Hare boosts Bear onto the image of a horse. Upbeat and imaginative. Ages 5-9. (Nov . )