My Brown Bear Barney at the Party - Hardcover

PreS-Gr 1-Barney the bear has a rough time of it when a young narrator and her friend Fred attend Harold Hinkel's birthday party. Coveted by Harold's younger sister, Barney gets painted on and then thrown into a fish tank. His owner doesn't fare much better when the "pirate ship" hammock capsizes and she lands in the vegetable garden. Fuller's pen, ink, and watercolor cartoons show all of the mishaps. This book lacks the strong repetition and focus of My Brown Bear Barney (1989) and My Brown Bear Barney in Trouble (1993; o.p., both Greenwillow), and the story seems to wander a bit as a result. Barney is no longer the central character, which is perhaps the point, as his owner is growing up. However, the wordier text and somewhat meandering plot can't match the childlike charm of the earlier titles.-Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, Eldersburg, MD

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.