THE BOLL WEEVIL BALL

Redd, a very little beetle—perhaps "the smallest beetle ever"—has been invited to a big event: the Boll Weevil Ball. But being a social butterfly is quite a struggle for such a tiny bug: just getting the invitation out of the mailbox makes scaling K2 look easy, and he nearly gets trampled on the dance floor. Yet when Lily, a pretty firefly, takes him for an illuminated whirl in the sky, Redd finds he has the sophistication and grace of a winged Fred Astaire: "Redd and Lily danced the Weevil Waltz flawlessly, high above a sea of antennae." Making her children's book debut, Murphy's text and paintings work in tandem to convey the action and emotion leading up to the ball. In a family portrait, for example, only Redd's eyes and antennae appear. A lovely understated humor animates the spot illustrations (in one, Redd nearly drowns in a punch cup), while full-page and full-spread paintings highlight a variety of perspectives (Redd being left behind by his siblings; a view of the dance floor from above). The hero's expressions and body language convey a winning vulnerability and quiet resolve, and the night scenes at the lantern-lit ball, rendered in deep blues and greens with splashes of yellow, evoke a painterly, romantic beauty. Ages 4-7. (Sept.)