cover image The Wonder Woods: Buford Bear's Bad News Blues

The Wonder Woods: Buford Bear's Bad News Blues

Gary J. Oliver. Chariot Victor Publishing, $7.99 (0pp) ISBN 978-1-56476-461-4

Victor's Wonder Woods series, of which this book is a part, addresses the darker emotions of childhood and looks for help with them in biblical texts. This entry seeks to help young children understand depression and sadness. Its primary reference is Psalm 34:18: ""The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit."" (Curiously, this reference appears as chapter and verse only on a cover sticker.) In an allegorical forest inhabited by a sweet array of animal friends, children learn that sadness is common, that it is often warranted and that it can be alleviated. Dahl's engaging, realistic, colorful illustrations are perfectly suited to the text. Most helpful to adults is the two-page guide that provides good discussion questions and other pertinent biblical references. (No such references are inserted in the story proper.) Other titles in the series deal with anger, fear and--in Bruce Moose and the What-If's, another February release by the same authors and illustrator--with worry. Ages 4-7. (Feb.)