Rembrandt Takes a Walk

This elegantly illustrated book is a marvelous place through which to take a leisurely visual walk. Of lesser interest is Strand's story of Tommy, a boy who visits his art collector uncle and discovers a magical ability to make Old Masters come to life. Tommy eats some apples from a Cezanne and a juicy Zurbaran orange or two. Then he frees Rembrandt from a late self-portrait and the two stroll through town, the artist sketching away with zeal. Unfortunately, the text is a bit precious and at times goes beyond the sophistication of young children. An example is an episode in which Rembrandt exclaims, ""What flesh!'' as he excitedly draws a portrait of a housewife in her yard, and is mistaken for a dirty old man. Thankfully, Grooms's strikingly original pictures, the artist's first for children, minimize the intrusion of the text. (4-7)