How Long

Caroline is busy painting a line, but she wants to know how long it will be before her mother can read her a story. The answer, ""In a minute,"" doesn't help much: ""But how long was a minute?"" she wonders. So she keeps painting, and when her mother comes, Caroline decides that the length of the line is a good measure of a minute (""That long!"" she concludes). Assembling a long parade of trucks fills 10 minutes (the time until lunch); digging a tunnel in the sand equals 15 minutes (when Mommy can play); etc. British author Dale again plays on the word ""long"" (""It's been a long day,"" says the mother at bedtime) before hitching her story to a sweet conclusion, in which Caroline's mother offers a classic response to the question ""How long will you love me for?"" Carnegie Medalist Marks (Storm) plumbs every bit of tenderness in the text and adds his own. His tranquil watercolors depict Caroline and her mother as barely anthropomorphized harvest mice; Caroline's mother can be seen amid tall grasses, gathering nuts for lunch and building a nest. Otherwise naturalistic settings smoothly incorporate Caroline's paintbrush, trucks and other toys, giving the art a subtle note of whimsy that, in turn, gives the serviceable story considerable appeal. Ages 3-6. (Sept.)