THE FLUTE PLAYER/LA FLAUTISTA

The slippery, undefinable beauty of the experience of listening to music is captured in this pleasant tale that bobs along like birdsong. A narrative that appears in both Spanish and English follows the tale of a young flute player whose instrument can only be heard by her until she shares it with a little girl who lives in an apartment building. This child unlocks the flute's magic and from it pours butterflies, an owl, fish, and more. These gifts, settling among the other apartment-dwellers, and the music fill everyone with new joy. Karas, working with Matisse-like perspectives as well as the colors and squiggles of Mexican needlework, brings his own musical vision to each page. As notes warble forth, his idiosyncratic shapes venture across skewed landscapes in vivid accompaniment to the words. (Picture book. 4-7)