Beverly Billingsly Borrows a Book

Based on the 2002 picture book by Alexander Stadler, Beverly Billingsly Borrows a Book is an iconographic animated tale about a little bear named Beverly who signs up for a library card at the public library, checks out a book on dinosaurs, and then realizes--one day too late--that the book is overdue. Naturally, her peers at school offer helpful observations: one youngster tells her that he thinks she will "have to pay a lot of money…like one thousand dollars," while another informs her about a relative that "went to jail" for not returning library materials on time. Frightened out of her wits, Beverly becomes withdrawn, shuns food, and has bad dreams in which large dinosaurs (saying things like "return me, or I will gobble you up") feature prominently. All ends well, of course, but while the story is cute, the illustrations are very simply drawn and shaded in rather mute colors (which might work on the page, but look bland on the screen). Optional. Aud: K, E, P. (R. Pitman)