WHEN SOMEONE IN THE FAMILY DRINKS TOO MUCH

When fuzzy bears hit the booze it can be just as devastating to their lives as it is for humans. In their first collaboration, this husband-and-wife team uses bears to demonstrate the destruction alcohol wreaks on alcoholics, their families, and their friends. Alcoholism is approached as an illness; the text explains that race, class, and intelligence don't make a difference in who is affected by the disease or how. Frustrating behaviors—lying, anger, mood swings—are depicted as the result of the illness over which alcoholics have no control. It explains in just as much detail how alcoholism affects family members and how they cope. A list of places where kids can turn for help is included. The use of teddy-like bears distances very young preschoolers from the horrifying realities of humans ``under the influence'' but may seem to mock what older readers know is a very human problem. The pervasive sense of sorrow, tempered by hope, may mark the book as bibliotherapy, to be shared by adults and children, rather than for young readers on their own. (Picture book. 6-10)