A persistent rat wants one of Big Brown Bear’s slippers—it’s the perfect size for a rat bed. “You have two of them,” Rat points out when Bear refuses to part with one. “I have two feet, too,” Bear replies. Rat is full of crazy ideas for getting the slipper from Bear, but Bear can’t be so easily fooled. Bear isn’t unkind, just practical. So when an opportunity presents itself to give Rat what he wants most, Bear willingly complies. A story that might easily have erred on the side of sweetness maintains a perfect edge with Bear’s occasional prickliness and Rat’s questionable charm. (Ages 3–6)