HONKERS

With Mama in bed waiting for the new baby, Betsy is sent to her grandparents. She's old enough to remind Grandy not to call her "Little Bit"; still, she takes her silky blanket. In Grandy's barn are three wild-goose eggs. Waiting for them to hatch (how a blanket keeps them warm is not explained) helps pass the time while the pile of letters from Mama mounts; once the eggs do hatch, Betsy shares her beloved silky with the goslings. At summer's end, Mama's letters fill two boxes; the geese (in a poignant parting) fly south; and Betsy sets out to meet the new baby—without the silky. Gracefully, Yolen interweaves carefully selected details to depict a well-loved child maturing during a necessary separation. Setting the story perhaps a hundred years ago, Baker focuses on its warm emotional content, placing her expressive figures in barely suggested impressionistic scenes rendered in misty browns and grays. A lovely, beautifully crafted book. (Picture book. 4-8)