Gordon Loggins and the Three Bears

In this lumbering Goldilocks send-up, young Gordon Loggins slips through a door on the library bookshelf and encounters a trio of bears who fumble his name (""Golden Lockens"") and prod him into starring in the story-hour selection. Bailey's (the Steve Diamond mysteries) tale has amusing moments (e.g., Gordon hates porridge, and the bears must sprinkle it with chocolate chips in order to get him to ""eat it all up"") and readers may get a kick out of the mistaken identity shtick. However, the overwritten text is saddled with a surfeit of coyness (most of the gags are telegraphed in excessively broad strokes). Walker's (How Much... Is 1,000?) buoyant illustrations have a retro flavor, and she knits the pages together cleverly with a recurring bumblebee motif. Unfortunately, her efforts can't salvage the heavy-handed script. Ages 3-7. (Oct.)