HOW MANY STARS IN THE SKY?

A rather earnest story about a child who can't sleep and tries to count the stars. Trees, houses, and streetlights interfere, so Dad takes him on a tour of discovery: into town and then the city (apparently New York), where it's even harder to see the stars; at last into the country, where there are too many to count. The warmth between father and son (especially in Ransome's sturdy, expansive double-spread paintings) is fine, but their itinerary on the nightlong quest verges on the preposterous. (Picture book. 4-8)