There Was Magic Inside

Newcomer Galchutt has concocted a fresh and quirky tale about ``a young fisherman named Toshi'' who one day discovers a box floating in the water. Opening it, he discovers four colored wooden balls, a book of magic tricks and a jester's costume: `` `It looks like magic!' Toshi thought,'' and proceeds to wreak havoc with his booty. He drops the wooden balls in the water by mistake, thus awakening ``Xanchi, the sleeping dragon of the sea.'' Only through his subsequent quick-wittedness and rapidly learned prestidigitation does he outsmart the fearsome beast and win plaudits for his bravery. (In a particularly playful touch, Xanchi is tickled into submission by ``thousands of butterflies.'') While Galchutt's fairy-tale phraseology will find favor with adventure-minded youngsters, it is the extravagant artwork here that truly sparkles: executed in glossy hues and laden with Asian motifs, these paintings tend occasionally to upstage the story. Kids will nonetheless enjoy the many intricate details, such as those in a spread depicting an army summoned by Toshi consisting of only ``stone statues and snowmen'' (the boy's magic, it seems, needs practice). A graphic treat with a somewhat less tantalizing story. Ages 4-8. (Apr.)