FOG

When ``the worst fog [Dad's] ever seen'' wraps itself around the house, even Momma seems worried. Then Grandma suggests they all listen: ``It wants something.'' In the silence, a dripping faucet, a toppling block city, and a scratching dog are reminders of tasks left undone, but Grandma comes up with a more imaginative idea: ``The fog came for music!'' Tuning up, the family joins in singing and playing until the gloom abates and even the fog, swirling and billowing, seems to dance as it moves away. Fowler's strong, unsentimental paintings move the story beyond a particular family chasing the weather blues to a more universal message about meeting adversity with cheerful ingenuity. (Picture book. 4-8)