WINDY

Graphic designers Mitchell and Steedman have fashioned a tale starring a winsome wire and cloth doll with black dots for eyes—her only facial feature—and yellow yarn for hair. True to her name, Windy is happily awakened by the "Whshshshshsh!" made by "the papery rustle of the leaves in the trees," a description that's also a sly reference to the book's organizing aesthetic. For Windy lives in a world constructed entirely from paper (collage, origami and simple cut-out shapes), fashioned into three-dimensional environments and photographed from varying perspectives. The story follows Windy in her pursuit of a runaway blue kite (kite-making instructions appear on the inside of the dust jacket). Her eventually successful quest gives Mitchell and Steedman ample opportunity to introduce other kite-flying characters in playfully ingenious scenes including origami Meadow Bunnies and a trio of red cut-out fish who inhabit a pond suggested by concentric circles of turquoise paper. While the narrative is slight, Windy's homespun-doll charms are considerable, and the photography (by Mia Cunningham) makes the most of the book's small, square format. The volume's compact size lends the action intimacy, drama and a magical sense of vérité. Ages 3-7. (Sept.)