DON'T BE AFRAID, AMANDA
by Lilian Moore & illustrated by Kathleen Kathleen Garry McCord
In a sequel to the appealing I'll Meet You at the Cucumbers (1988), Amanda (the city mouse) makes her first visit to country mouse pen-pal Adam, affording us the pleasure of seeing Adam's bucolic surroundings from her perspective. The events here are quiet, the most exciting being when Amanda floats adrift into the pond on a leaf and is easily rescued by a turtle. But Moore charms with her lucid narration, her small, gently characterized creatures and their gracefully realized world, and especially with Adam's lyrical poems, which continue to celebrate his insights into his fellow creatures. Appropriately, McCord's frequent b&w illustrations are in the cozy Garth Williams tradition. (Fiction. 7-10)