Before prereaders get around to A.A. Milne's classic Winnie the Pooh tales, they can encounter the characters in this set of six board books. The first book of course features the loveable bear himself, with additional volumes devoted to small yet brave Piglet, irrepressible Tigger, and inconsolable Eeyore; here too are the allegedly wise Owl, and the inseparable duo Kanga and Roo. Each animal's personality is described in rhymed couplets ("Pooh is a bear who thinks a lot, / 'How much honey is left in my pot?'"), and Andrew Grey's illustrations evoke those of Ernest Shepard so faithfully that you may be forgiven for thinking that these drawings were culled from Milne's original stories.