Lily Takes a Walk

In Hiawyn Oram's Angry Arthur, Kitamura illustrated the violent, intense rages a child sometimes feels. Here, he addresses the subject of childhood fears. When Lily and her dog Nicky go out walking, Lily loves to look at the world around her. For Nicky, however, the walk is a hair-raising experience: a face grins evilly from a tree; monsters rise from a trash can; streetlights become staring eyes. Kitamura simultaneously and humorously depicts Lily's and Nicky's divergent perceptions of the same walk; he is adept at tinging reality with the surreal elements that give rise to Nicky's fears. A gatefold last page reveals a heart-stopping finale for Nicky (and a hilarious coda for readers). Children will enjoy identifying with the imperturbable Lily (""Aren't they clever?'' she says when faced with very real, swooping bats) and feeling superior to Nicky, who in fact experiences many of the fears they themselves are prone to. Nicky's nervous antics and his overactive imagination give this stroll a delicious scariness; inventive details on each page make this a walk well worth taking. Ages 4-6. (October)