The Christmas Drum

Hooper bases her touching tale on the Romanian Christmas Eve ritual of colindat, caroling to the music provided by villagers playing a variety of instruments, including a tiny drum called the duba. One year, Peter is called on to play the duba in place of his father, who is away working in a city factory. Can he do justice to this important job? Deftly depicting old-world costumes and customs, Paterson's buoyant watercolors capture the villagers' high spirits-and the joy of one child in particular. Ages 4-8. (Oct.)