WIND SAYS GOOD NIGHT

In a cumulative summer-night story, the wind asks the moon to stop shining ``so Moth will stop dancing/so Frog will stop strumming/so Cricket will stop playing/so Mockingbird will stop singing/so the child can go to sleep.'' A cooperative cloud helps set the events in motion; at the end, only the wind is heard whispering ``Good night.'' The quiet text finds an enchanted, moon- washed setting in illustrations rendered in evanescent pastels over charcoal and white, with whimsical portrayals of cheerful fireflies sturdily lugging their lanterns, an Ichabod Crane of a cricket in top hat and oversized glasses, a heavy-lidded frog plunking his upright bass, and a snail hurrying as best it can. That Rydell is a professional storyteller is evident in the rhythms and pacing of this fine debut, so perfectly attuned to the speaking voice as to make it a ``can't-fail'' bedtime story; use when Goodnight Moon is out of season or has been outgrown. (Picture book. 2-8)