In lilting verse and exuberant paintings, the first of Nancy White Carlstrom’s and Bruce Degen’s celebrated Jesse Bear books creates a special day not only for Jesse Bear, but for young children everywhere.

What does a little bear wear while he romps through a bright and sunny day? In the morning, his pants that dance, a rose between his toes, and the sun on his legs that run. At lunchtime, an apple to bite and a moustache of white, and juice from a pear and rice in his hair. And at night, his pjs with feet and face on the seat, and sleep in his eyes and stars in the skies, as he dreams of the fun he’ll have tomorrow.