cover image The Wedding of Brown Bear and White Bear

The Wedding of Brown Bear and White Bear

Martine Beck. Little Brown and Company, $12.95 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-316-08652-3

Bear meets bear, marries bear and lives happily ever after in this affectionately illustrated book about true love that happily knows no complications. Lumbering Brown Bear is entranced with the pink-frocked White Bear he sees while skating. They meet and spend time becoming good friends, and eventually, Brown Bear writes a love letter. After admiring White Bear's ``eyes as bright as stars'' and ``fur whiter than the moon,'' he asks, ``Would you like to look at the moon and the stars / with me always and forever?'' Without further ado, they invite their friends to the wedding, where Brown Bear places ``a crown of wild roses on White Bear's head'' and they dance until ``the last of the stars slip out of the sky.'' Henry's high-spirited characters are as expressive and cheerful as Holabird's in Angelina Ballerina, and they provide a witty accompaniment to Beck's innocent, delicate text. Ages 4-8. (Apr.)