cover image Miranda's Day to Dance

Miranda's Day to Dance

Jackie Jasina Schaefer. Four Winds, $14.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-02-781111-7

With a nod to Carmen Miranda, the young protagonist in this mishmash of a picture book dances a number with fruit atop her head. On Monday and on each day thereafter, Miranda receives a gift of fruit from the animals of the jungle. Schaefer's debut text provides gentle reinforcement of counting and days of the week but offers little in terms of suspense, surprise or a strong story line. A notes section at the end of the book features the names of the South American fruits and animals featured in the artwork but delivers only cursory information. Schaefer's dark and scratchy pastels can be difficult to decipher, and while her stylized compositions are sometimes effectively moody, her figures more often appear oddly misshapen. Ages 3-5. (Sept.)