WITHOUT WINGS, MOTHER, HOW CAN I FLY?

Farber’s comforting question-and-answer session between a boy and his mother forms the basis for Narahashi’s exuberant scenes of sharing. “Spittle bugs blow bubbles, Can I do that?” the boy asks. “With suds and a pipe,” his mom replies. Always, he looks to the world around him, wondering how he can emulate the interesting things he sees. Always his mother provides a way: To change color as a chameleon does, she suggests he change his coat; to stay as snug as a caterpillar in its cocoon, she tells him to snuggle up in his sleeping bag. Narahashi’s soft watercolor washes make the pictures as compact as the text, while the jacket painting, of the mother’s skirt twirling as she spins the child around off his feet, sets the tone and invites readers into the pages. (Picture book. 3-6)