Fish and Flamingo

Fish and Flamingo are the best of pals, an uncommon pair trading stories in ``a place where the sky slid into the sea.'' Fish tells of his ``underwater world, of swimming on the cool green bottom of the sea'' while Flamingo captivates her friend with tales of flying on a breeze into the sunset. Day after day, Fish and Flamingo converse, deepening their friendship, until Flamingo must join her fellow birds in their flight to warmer climes. A pair of unexpected farewell gifts brings this simple, winningly conceived story to a thoughtful conclusion. Desimini's luminous illustrations shimmer with an inner energy and exoticism--her bold rainbow colors pulsing with a solid warmth, their effulgence never verging on the artificial. Both text and pictures tingle with a lush, magical poetry yet manage to maintain the unfettered feeling of a modern folktale. Ages 4-8. (Apr.)