Clown, Bear and Rabbit

Stories of toys lost or abandoned and subsequently given a caring home provide a safely vicarious experience for young children, the anthropomorphism of the playthings concerned giving a necessary distance to the emotions of loss. Clown, Bear and Rabbit undergo just such experiences. Neglected in an upstairs room of an old house they go in search of Granny who seems to have forgotten about them. Weeks are spent in the old tree-house where they remember playing with Granny's children, until a storm drives them back to the house. Now the old nursery newly gleams and the friends are seized on with joy by the children of Granny's daughter. The illustrations are pleasantly bright and cheery and are spread across much of each opening. The text, however, is somewhat pedestrian and predictable.