Bear on a Bike

A youngster hurries to keep up with a bear as he tries out various methods of transportation in Blackstone and Harter's eye-catching paper-over-board book, a companion to their Bear in a Square. Rhythmic quatrains in question-and-answer format establish the momentum for each spread: ""Bear on a bike,/ As happy as can be,/ Where are you going, bear?/ Please wait for me!"" A child runs after the bear, who answers on the following page: ""I'm going to the market,/ Where fruit and flowers are sold,/ Where people buy fresh oranges/ And pots of marigold."" A different environment emerges on each spread, whether the busy outdoor market peopled with funny shoppers (like the elderly lady with a rooster on her head) or the teepee-dotted prairie that the bear crosses by covered wagon. The abundance of bright colors and busy patterns is contained by tidy draftsmanship, so that the overall effect is manageably dynamic and frolicsome. This travel primer has plenty of get-up-and-go. Ages 2-5. (Mar.)