Little Bear's Day

Little Bear, a featured player in Hissey's picture book romps ( Old Bear ), receives star billing when the artist shifts her stuffed-animal cast to board book format. The transfer is exceptionally happy. Text gives way to simple and graceful rhyming couplets; backgrounds drop out in favor of cleanly silhouetted images. Hissey's almost photographically precise illustrations are easy to assimilate, while this realistic style sets off the whimsicality of her subjects: as Little Bear races to get dressed, his pajama bottoms wind up adorning Rabbit's ears; later, Little Bear swings on a bench suspended from the mouth of the obliging giraffe Jolly Tall. Good-natured, with just the right amount of brio, these board books extend a welcome invitation to the youngest readers. Ages 1-3. (Mar.)