A SUMMERTIME SONG

An opulent book that sports sumptuous watercolors, a lively tempo, and clever energy. A frog jumps through Lucy's window on a summer's night, with an invitation to a party and a magic paper hat. Lucy shuffles outside, and ``a finger of moonlight touched the hat and FOOF! Lucy was as little as a leaf.'' Lucy hails a bird's- nest taxi; they stop for Madame Mouse (``Zut! I am late!), Inchworm (``I inch while I sleep,/I inch while I wake,/I inch until,/my little feet ache''), and a wee Japanese doll, lost years before and still hoping to be found. A huge owl threatens to eat them, but the taxi makes a fast escape. When the owl makes an appearance at the party, he is disarmed by the news that the birthday party is for him. ``How kind! Tonight I'll eat cake—not bugs. Do you mind?'' Before the evening's end, Inchworm becomes a moth and the doll regains its owner. Haas touches the story with rhyme here and there, infuses it with hope and old-fashioned enchantment, and loads the artwork with details that continue to reveal themselves upon additional readings. (Picture book. 4-8)