BOB ROBBER AND DANCING JANE

Willey’s delicately elfin figures and jewel-bright colors have never shown to better effect than in this atmospheric tale of a robber who discovers the difference between stolen goods and freely given ones. Bob Robber can steal the scent from flowers and the truth from a promise, so when he spies Dancing Jane one moonlit night, he carves a tear into a heart to distract her, and steals her shadow as a dancing partner. He finds out, though, that he’s traded his heart for a wilted thing that will not move on its own. Confused and sad, he returns it, whereupon Jane takes his hand and teaches him to dance until the dawn—which he had never seen before—lights the sky. Their faces luminescent in Willey’s shadowed nighttime scenes, Bob and Dancing Jane pose with increasingly balletic grace as background swirls of red and opening poppies announce the break of day. A lovely tale for more advanced sensibilities, rich both in feeling and poetic imagery. (Picture book. 8-10)