Chrysta and Greville Gribble, Tybal and his mother Sybil, the crabby Copples, feeble Mrs.

Meanwhile, mischievous rebel Abel bursts the bubble with his slingshot and the villagers gallantly come to the rescue by catching him in a quilt.

Mahy is a master at creating verse that is as light and airy as the babys bubble.

Filled with lovely Briticisms, alliterative nonsense words, double, triple and internal rhymes, its meant to be read aloudAgainand will lead both breathless readers and listeners to delighted giggles.

The text floats across the pages in waves and arcs, and Dunbars joyous watercolor-andcut-paper illustrations are wonderfully expressive, a visual treat moving apace with the text.

One day, lying under the desk in despair, he remembers finding an inchworm in the park.

Thats all he has, though, until his classmates questionsDid it feel squishy Did your mom let you keep it Did you name itopen the floodgates for a rousing yarn featuring an interloping toddler, a broad comic turn and a dramatic rescue.

Hanlon illustrates the episode with childlike scenes done in transparent colors, featuring friendly-looking children with big smiles and widely spaced button eyes.

The narrative text is printed in standard type, but the childrens dialogue is rendered in hand-lettered printing within speech balloons.

The episode is enhanced with a page of elementary writing tips and the tantalizing titles of his many subsequent stories (When I Ate Too Much Spaghetti, The Scariest Hamster, When the Librarian Yelled Really Loud at Me, etc.) on the back endpapers.

However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who cant look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one whos already grown.

Alternatively, readers wont fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home andor other family-oriented setting.

Makes sense: arent parents and other close family members childrens first teachers This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child whos developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.

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Double Trouble For Elise