WHAT DO ANGELS WEAR?

Spinelli takes a hoary cliché—the rhymed picture book—and turns it into a lovely, lilting paean to childhood and play. Mama tucks a child into bed who asks, “Tell me this, can angels fly?” Mama responds to each of the child’s questions: angels sing “like birds in spring” and in answer to the title question, “Flowing flower-printed smocks, / And in winter, woolen socks.” And what angels these are: sturdy angels that are really a gaggle of multi-ethnic children with wings, dancing, playing (“They play wave-to-every-car”), baking. Are angels real? “Real as love and wind and light, / Real as Mama’s kiss good night.” Caldecott-winner McCully’s angels tumble on clouds, in starry night skies, through the rain and into pear orchards: blond, brunette, redhead; brown, pink, and caramel; wearing glasses, playing instruments, each with their own pair of small white wings. Dulcet and delicious—a charming bedtime story. (Picture book. 3-6)