Bear in Pink Underwear

PreS-K—Bear is a soccer player on a team called the Red Devils, and he wears his lucky undershorts for every game. During a match played in the rain, he is close to the goal when he slips on the grass. The game ends in a tie, and everyone is covered in mud. At home, Bear throws his red shirt and white underwear into the washer. Next day, when he shows up in pink underwear, his teammates make fun of him: "You stink and your shorts are pink!" But they play the game and Bear scores the winning goal. Suddenly pink is great. Now the team is called the Pink Devils, with all of the players sporting pink underwear. The digitally created, stylized cartoon illustrations depict an assorted bunch of unappealing creatures. Although the anti-bullying message comes through clearly, the message of conditional acceptance is not a good one. The team only likes Bear when he wins for them. The cover comes with a pull tab. Bear is shown wearing his team uniform, and a word bubble says, "Whatever you do, DON'T pull my shorts down!" A pull of the tab reveals the pink underwear. Skip this one.—Ieva Bates, Ann Arbor District Library, MI