A Perfect Day for It

Crystalline artwork graces this tale of expectations gone haywire. It is a crisp winter morning when Bear sniffs the air and tests the snowpack (why aren’t you snoozing in your den, Bear?). Badger asks where Bear is off to. “Up the mountain,” he replies. “Why?” Badger asks. “Because it’s a perfect day for it,” says Bear. Curious, Badger follows Bear, anticipating that “it” may well be uncovering a stash of honeycomb. Tramp, tramp, tramp, goes Bear; scritchity, scratchity, goes Badger; paddypaw, paddypaw, goes Fox as he joins the wayfarers, figuring they are going snowballing. Squirrel tiptoes behind—“I bet they’re looking for treasure”—and Mole slippy slides last, sure the group is looking for some tasty worms. But at the top of the mountain, Bear simply takes a seat. What about the treasure and honeycomb and worms, they chorus. Bear says he had no such intent. Rather, he takes them on what proves to be an equally enjoyable experience, a long slide down the mountainside on his back. You don’t always get what you expect, but surprise is half the fun of adventure, and a delightful surprise here is the fancy, cascading fold-out that tracks Bear and his friends as they shoosh down the slope. (Picture book. 3-6)