THE CONTEST BETWEEN THE SUN AND THE WIND

Forest preserves the basic plot of this brief Aesopian chestnut, but recasts the language into typically buoyant, often-rhymed cadences that highlight the Wind’s brutality and the Sun’s gentleness. Likewise, in the sky over a fanciful landscape through which a lone man in modern dress treks, Gaber pairs off a soft but solid-looking orb sporting rainbow-colored eyes and a benevolent smile against a stormy spirit that is all fierce scowls and swirls of spattered paint. Dedicated “to Peace Makers everywhere,” this fresh rendition will please young eyes and ears; consider it as an alternative to the older versions illustrated by Bernadette Watts (1992), Tomie DePaola (1995) or Bee Willey (2000). (Picture book/folktale. 6-10)