THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE

The well-known fable is economized in a Ready-to-Read edition from Miles (see review, above); the events of the race now take place entirely in dialogue, sometimes in a Dick-and-Jane staccato. Quotation marks and speech bubbles have been abandoned in favor of brief blocks of text placed in proximity to each animal speaker. Once the race begins, it's not long before Hare settles into a nap; a night and a day later, bespectacled, sneaker-wearing Tortoise is still plodding along, slow but steady, coaching himself—``One step, another step. One step and another'' until he takes first place. Meisel's whimsical, uncluttered line drawings fit the format well, bright enough to attract attention and to express action. Larger animal characters sport T-shirts with identifying letters—H for Hare, B for Bear- -while a cheering section of smaller creatures displays banners proclaiming ``Yippee'' and ``Hooray,'' highlighting the tale with humor. (Picture book. 5-7)