SUBWAY SPARROW

Torres's first picture book, also available in Spanish (ISBN: 0-374-82756-4), is a charming multicultural vignette. When a sparrow flies into a subway train in Brooklyn, a black-haired girl tries to help him find his way out. A dark-faced, conservatively clad gentleman with an umbrella takes an interest, in Spanish, when the bird perches on his hat; a big kid with a basketball also offers help, as does a Polish lady who's knitting. Finally, arriving at a busy stop, they work out a plan (still speaking their native tongues). The four catch the bird in the lady's scarf and, while a crowd surges into the train, carry him up the escalator and set him free, with farewells in three languages. Torres's realistic watercolors, though a little stiff, capture the milieu well enough; but her simple story is ingeniously constructed, nicely paced, and altogether disarming. (Picture book. 3-8)