Frosted Glass

Gregory, an imaginative kid who can't always focus on the tasks at hand, is having a bad day. When his teacher calls him up to the board to draw a circle, another kid calls it ""a flat tire.'' An ant crawls onto Gregory's desk, and he draws a city for it instead of doing his math problems. During art he draws an elaborate spaceship instead of the still life. He almost forgets to take things home from school. But on the school bus going home, Adrienne tells him that she loves his spaceship picture and that his teacher said it was beautiful. Gregory's mood brightens. He draws a circle on the frosty school-bus window glass. Like his day now, ``It was perfect.'' This is a quintessential first grade book. In softly hued, evocative watercolors, Cazet has captured the bittersweet moods of young children, and the ups and downs of daily life. An affirmation of friendship and childhood creativity. Ages 4-7. (April)