When You’re Scared

Poulin parallels the experiences of a shaggy-haired child with that of a bear cub in this touching story. The boy is “a little scared” to leap from a branch into a body of water; meanwhile, the cub prepares to jump into a food-filled dumpster, feeling the same way. Both the cub and boy become “very scared”—the boy, off to throw out his campsite’s garbage, encounters the cub’s mother, and the cub can’t get out of the bin. Poulin’s collage-style art has a crisp, retro look: the campers’ truck sports long rainbow stripes, the family owns an old-school wireless radio. The boy and his mother find an innovative solution to the cub’s predicament, and final spreads show the two roasting marshmallows while the cub and mother bear are together in the safety of the darkness: “They’re no longer scared.” Ages 3–7.[em] (Mar.) [/em]