A Day on the River

""Paul, Bernie, and Thomas are playing hooky today, and no sooner has the day begun than the three boys are off to the river.'' Soon stripped to their bathing suits, the boys have a series of imaginary adventures, pretending, for instance, that the two large winches of the dam are Iron Monsters. Michl's prose is unexceptional, but his story and pictures have a delightful flavor of danger and irresponsibility. Like Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer before them, these boys are willing to risk getting into trouble to have an adventure. At story's end, they meet a scrappy little girl who has invaded their tree house. She wins them over with her saucy smile and her ragamuffin dog; they roll her home in their inner tube. The book comes with a handsome poster. (4-9)