THE STORY OF A BLUE BIRD

Bogacki (I Hate You! I Like You!, 1997, etc.) presents the tale of a blue bird who tries to be cleverly heroic, but winds up a coy cipher. A small bird is urged by its mother to take wing; the baby is afraid to fly, although it is curious about what is beyond the confines of its nest. ``Nothing,'' chirps his mother. One night the blue bird leaves the nest, on foot, in search of ``nothing.'' He meets a green bird, who asks, ``What are you looking for?'' ``Nothing,'' says the blue bird. ``Oh! Come with me,'' squeaks the green bird. Then a flock of colorful birds flies by; upon hearing of the blue bird's quest, they say, ``Oh! Come with us.'' The blue bird forgets his fears and flies after the green bird into their midst. It may be best not to question the pursuit of ``nothing'' too closely; unlike Bogacki's previous books, which are deliberately didactic, this one is neat, tidy, and charminglybut utterlyelusive. The landscapes reveal the world as the bird sees it, before and after flight, and the characters are pudgily identifiable to preschoolers. (Picture book. 3-5)