A River Dream

The illustrator of The Boy of the Three-Year Nap has created a new tale, about Mark, who is sick in bed with a fever and receives an unexpected gift from a favorite unclea small metal box of trout fishing flies. This is no ordinary gift, however; the tiny lures come to life and swarm out the open window. Stranger still, the suburban neighborhood outside has vanished and a sparkling stream flows alongside the house. Translucent watercolors in shades of blue swirl with motion as Mark sets off in a rowboat to explore the stream and discovers a lone fishermanhis unclewho teaches him how to fly fish. With a flash of spray the stream yields its treasure, a beautiful rainbow trout speckled with green and pink, caught on the end of Mark's line. ``It's good to leave the river the way I found it,'' says Mark, letting the fish go free. The pictures add suspense, excitement and an unearthly, mysterious feeling to the story of a boy's feverish dream. Ages 4-8. (October)