RAGGED BEAR

Ragged Bear is ``old and worn, ragged and torn,'' but he is a forgiving soul. He endures abuse and neglect in a far corner of the playroom, enjoying only the occasional toss into the air or chance to arch himself over the tracks to become a tunnel for the toy train. When he gets to ride to the park in the tricycle wagon he is very happy indeed. It starts to rain and his heedless owners hurry home, abandoning him on a park bench, ``soggy and miserable and very, very sad.'' Rescue comes when a child takes him home for general cleaning and repairs, hugging, kissing, and enjoying the luxury of a bed to sleep in. It's a worthy outcome for this bear. Weninger (What Have You Done, Davy?, p. 302, etc.) sketches Ragged Bear's personality, but in the handsome oversize format, Marks's soft, fluid watercolors give the bear his lovable form. This bear is a very appealing fellow; he takes center stage—readers see only hands, feet, and shadows of the children—and small adjustments in posture and facial expressions convey his changing emotions and situations beautifully. Deceptively simple, deeply satisfying. (Picture book. 4-7)