This is a wonderful whiz! But it takes some getting used to. Actually two stories in one, they begin at opposite ends of the book and meet in the middle. Furthermore, one is upside down from the other, and in each case, you have to turn the book over to get the punchline of that story. One end tells of Lucy, who is frightened of just about everything. Her 'happy rag' protects her, and when her parents try to throw it away, she always retrieves it. She says it is 'a big growly bear who looks after me'. Meanwhile, at the other end of the book is George who has a 'happy rag' that makes him feel happy. His rag is not so much for protection as a springboard into imagination, but again, his family think it is horrid and dirty. Lucy and George take their respective happy rags to the park one day, and as they round the corner towards each other, growly bear meets flying carpet with spectacular results. As often with Tony Ross, this is very child-centred and highly imaginative.