cover image Lucky Song

Lucky Song

Vera B. Williams. Greenwillow Books, $16.99 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-688-14459-3

Young Evie has all the luck--at least in Williams's (""More, More, More!"" Said the Baby) quiet but inviting book. Spare declarative sentences describe Evie's simple good fortune on a day where everything goes her way: ""She wanted something new to wear, and on the hook she found it"" (the artwork shows her reaching for a brightly colored cap); ""She wanted something new to play with, and her grandpa made it for her"" (he is seen crouching with a kite). At bedtime, parent and child recall the day's fun as Evie's father sings her a song ""all about Evie, who flew her kite up with the clouds and the speedy planes."" Young children will feel comforted by the depiction of Evie's loving and supportive family and cotton to Evie's independent, slightly adventurous spirit. Williams bathes her story in her characteristic rainbow palette of watercolors--even the letters of text are awash in various hues. Her richly toned pages serve as a stage on which Evie and the other characters take the spotlight. Ages 3-up. (Sept.)