JUST ONE MORE STORY

The dual definitions of the word "story" are the springboard for a humorous misunderstanding in this warm and jaunty picture book. "Dad played the fiddle, Mom sang country-western, and Austin banged the tambourine" in the country-western musical group known as the Swamp Snakes. The trailer they tow behind their car is home sweet home as they travel the country from gig to gig. Each night, Austin drinks from his dinosaur mug, lines up his stuffed animals and begs for tales before saying goodnight, but Dad reminds him, "You know the rules,... just one story at bedtime." When the Swamp Snakes pop in to stay with some relatives in their "two-story house," Austin thrills at the notion that he'll get two bedtime stories. Later, Dad rises to the challenge when the Swamp Snakes splurge and stay in an 11-story hotel one night. Brutschy's cheerful tale conveys the strong family bonds and daily rituals that keep the Swamp Snakes close—and surprisingly ordinary—despite their unconventional line of work. Smith (Nine for California) adds zip with her fluid-lined watercolors of lively dance halls and the trailer's cramped but cozy quarters. Her depictions of characters fiddling, dancing and tambourine banging almost sway along with the Swamp Snakes' appreciative audiences. Ages 4-7. (June)