Waiting for Amos

The virtues of patience and faith figure into this forthright tale of friendship. Awaiting the arrival ``this morning'' of his pal Amos, Homer the frog sits anxiously atop a gray-brown rock: ``he said to wait, so wait I will.'' The patient amphibian is visited by various colleagues, all of whom chide him for his inactivity and declare in no uncertain terms that waiting is a waste of time. (``You should go home and eat flies,'' a lizard advises.) But Homer remains steadfast, eliciting promises from all non-believers to return at noon with refreshments to share with Amos. Just as morning threatens to become afternoon, Homer's rocky perch moves--Amos the tortoise had been on the scene all along. With its familiar, old-time fable tone, Kulling's gentle narrative will comfort little ones while offering a subtle message about comradeship. Lowe's splashy, intensely colored watercolors spill over the pages, suggesting a cross between Patricia MacCarthy's batik art and a child's free-form finger painting. Ages 3-7. (Mar.)