TOGETHER FOREVER

A warm, reassuring celebration of the love between a mother and her child. Set in the cold Arctic winter, these textured, multimedia paintings show the fur pattern of polar bears, individual snowflakes, broad winter landscapes and the wonderful wash of the Aurora Borealis. Mother Bear, observing her cub exploring more on his own, gently reminds him what to do if he gets lost: Look to the sky at the constellations of the Great Bear and the Little Bear and, like Ursa Minor, wait until she finds him. To children everywhere who know the constellations as the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper, the overlay of bear outlines over the stars will come as a charming surprise, though there's no explanation of why the star-bears have tails. Of course, the cub loses track of his mother chasing snowflakes, but he remembers her instructions, and, sure enough, Mother Bear finds him: "You did a great job," she says. "Now let's go home." Separation anxiety is a natural phenomenon, and this small, sweet story provides both solid advice and comfort. (Picture book. 3-7)