Big Brown Bear Goes to Town    by David McPhail Order:  USA  Can Harcourt, 2006 (2006) Hardcover     Reviewed by Hilary Daninhirsch This picture book, divided into very short chapters, follows the adventures of Big Brown Bear and his Rat friend. Rat's little yellow car continually gets flooded from the rains, so Big Brown Bear decides to do something about it. When Big Brown Bear needs a ride to town to do some errands, Rat is only too happy to oblige. Together they ride in Rat's little yellow car, which is ridiculously small for Bear, but they manage. It turns out that the bear's errands were for the purpose of giving a gift to Rat: he gives Rat a mailbox so he can turn it into a garage for his car. I have always been a big fan of McPhail's art work and this book is no exception. He is especially adept at drawing animals. In this book, Big Brown Bear is depicted as warm and fuzzy as a teddy bear, rushing all over town in his striped nightshirt and red nightcap, while Rat is as cute as a button with his purple and yellow top hat. The story itself is not very exciting, but the message of friendship and helpfulness is important. This book will appeal to the slightly younger end of the typical picture book audience range. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Kids books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews