One Bear All Alone

Bucknall's verses and buoyant color pictures meld into a beguiling story cum object lesson in basic math for little children. ""One bear all alone/ Sitting by the telephone.'' Dressed in his sharp overalls and striped shirt, the bear is seen leaning against a tall ``1'' on the opposite page. The phone doesn't ring, but the doorbell does, whereupon the solitary bear perks up to greet two friends. Here the number ``2'' is cleverly incorporated into the decorative stained-glass window of the door. The three bears meet others on holiday and enjoy an outing by the sea, at the zoo, in a meadow. Too many sweets upset their way home and, at last, to bed. The author-illustrator displays rare ingenuity in depicting each number from 1 through 10. (37)