A collection of thirty-six riddles and childhood rhymes taken from the Russian tradition, Bears, Bees, and Birch Trees is a charming picture book, highlighting an area of folklore that is often neglected. From the rhyming verse to the brief riddle, each selection reveals a deep connection to the natural world, as well as an appreciation of the centrality of play in the child's world.

Young readers will particularly enjoy solving the riddles, which include selections such as: A little red shirt on his back. / Whoever happens to meet him, / Bows down to eat him." If you can't guess what this refers to (I'm terrible at riddles myself), you'll have to find a copy of the book. Green's watercolor illustrations, done in green, yellow and brown, are fairly straightforward and uninspiring, although I thought the inclusion of each riddle answer in both English and Russian was a nice touch. ( )