BABY BEAR'S BEDTIME BOOK

"Goldie" [locks] says she'll tell Baby Bear "only one" story, but—like a winsome toddler—he wheedles her into five extras, each with its designated quality (scary, silly, etc.) and each referring to one of Bear's own toy animals. Goldie's tales are brief, quirky, and mildly amusing in the manner of extemporized bedtime offerings; they will probably strike some readers as deliciously offbeat and others as just odd. The framing story has the charm of a recognizable situation. Dyer's cozy illustrations, generously laced with affectionate humor, make creative use of frames to relate the story within to the story without. An attractive bedtime book.