Devising the perfect activity for a crisp winter day, Bear takes all of his friends on a mysterious journey to the top of the mountain where they get an exhilarating downhill surprise that results in much fun! 25,000 first printing. PreSchool-Grade 1-On a crisp winter morning, Bear encounters Badger, who asks him where he is going. "Up the mountain," comes the reply, "Because it's a perfect day for it," and off he goes, "tramp tramp tramp." Badger decides that Bear must be "going to look for his secret stash of honeycomb" and follows along, "scritchity scratchity." Fox spots Bear and Badger and follows along, "paddypaw paddypaw." Next comes Squirrel, and then Mole. Bear reaches the summit, sits down, and declares to himself, "Perfect!" When his friends confront him with their different reasons for following him, he laughs, asks them to climb on his back, and reveals his secret: "-it really is a perfect, wonderful, truly magnificent day, and the best reason I know for climbing up the mountain is- so you can slide back down again!" And they do, landing at the bottom with a "FALUMP!" Pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations showcase a winter wonderland with snow-covered mountains, pine trees, and colorful critters. With the exception of Bear, each of the animals wears some kind of winter clothing: a scarf, mittens, head coverings. The repetitive text and suspense are perfect for reading aloud, and the concluding foldout pages are another surprise. Olga R. Kuharets, Broward County Libraries, Fort Lauderdale, FL Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. JAN FEARNLEY has written and illustrated many widely praised children's books, including Mr. Wolf and the Three Bears and Mr. Wolf's Pancakes . She lives in London. JAN FEARNLEY has written and illustrated many widely praised children's books, including Mr. Wolf and the Three Bears and Mr. Wolf's Pancakes . She lives in London. A fun winter story