McClure's (Tom Finger
) watercolor illustrations lend a fine, 19th-century, fairy tale air to Cottringer's (Movie Magic
) story, even if the metaphor that governs it—about friendship warming the body as well as the heart—seems strained. Waif-like Bruna, who lives alone in a hut, always feels cold. No amount of hot soup, blankets, scarves or even "Red Hot Fireballs" can ward off the chill. But after she saves a bear from drowning in icy water and nurses him back to health, she "never [feels] cold again." Using a palette of browns and golds, McClure emphasizes Bruna's loneliness as she sits alone, freezing. Although she seems to do nothing throughout the first half of the book except lament the cold, once the bear arrives Bruna cheerfully reads him "a story with a heart-warming ending" and she plays him "a hot tune on the piano." She also starts discarding her warm clothing until she is pictured barefoot in a pink dress, literally letting down her hair. The workings of the story stay fuzzy. For example, Cottringer does not explain why, initially, Bruna stands utterly forlorn as children all around her play gleefully. Young readers—especially those who still need reminding that putting on their mittens can help keep their hands warm—may need some interpretive nudges to make sense of the disingenuous story. Ages 4-8. (Oct.)
