TINKA

Every critter has its day, or so goes the thinking in this meandering tale that touches on issues of tolerance, perception and self-esteem. Tinka, a sheep "the size of a cupcake," doesn't exactly fit in on the McEwen farm, where the ewes consistently tease her or give her the cold shoulder. Luckily, Tinka can take comfort in her friendship with Sooty, a clownish crow. It's Sooty's support, in more ways than one, that helps Tinka accept herself and become the envy of her fellow fleece-bearers. Unfortunately, readers must shear through slack pacing and forced whimsy to find the positive message. Dohaney, who has previously published under another name, illustrates the text with watercolors accented with pencil shading. The stylized representations are frequently distracting: the regular ewes' faces are blue while Tinka is uniformly a chick-like yellow; Sooty's head is bigger than his body; a "purple spider" that features prominently in the plot looks much like an ameba (comprised of violet flowers). With no shortage of available titles about being different and/or small, youngsters may want to look beyond Tinka's tale. Ages 3-7. (May)