Bed for the Wind

Peter asks his mother where the wind sleeps at night (the mournful sound it makes saddens him), and she dismisses his question. But his father tells him to query the wind. The wind, faced with such a sympathetic boy, takes Peter on a search for a soft bed. When they find rolling plains, the wind can rest at last. Goodman's telling is overly complicated, exaggerating Peter's perfectly reasonable curiosity with adult-laden cuteness: ``I'm up here,'' said Peter. ``And I'd like to ask you a very important question. Please, would you wait just a moment?'' Root chooses the palette of a clear autumn day; with navy blues and rusty tones she deflects attention away from the flawed text and instills Peter's tale with some enchantment. Ages 6-9. (June)