MRS. FITZ'S FLAMINGOS

A solitary lady decides to improve her view of ``a sagging tar-paper roof, and the back sides of some billboards'' by putting up plastic flamingos, which she buys two at a time when she does errands in her Brooklyn neighborhood. There are a couple of problems at first (e.g., a nice inspector cautions her not to block the fire escape), but she soon has an immense flock of the pink birds on the warehouse roof next door. Suddenly, the warehouse is declared unsafe and demolished in minutes. The conclusion—the flamingos come to life and fly off to Florida—is pleasantly startling, if a bit unmotivated; meanwhile, McCloskey tells his offbeat tale with verve and illustrates in an amusing cartoon style. Yorinks and Egielski this isn't, but worth a try nonetheless. (Picture book. 4-8)