Can't Sit Still

A spirited African American girl demonstrates how she enjoys each of the year's four seasons in her city neighborhood in this ambitious and accomplished picture book. The heroine pedals her bike in autumn when the ``wind smells like hot java beans''; during a winter snowstorm she says, ``Somebody in heaven's having a pillow fight.'' Spring in the city means trips up to the roof, where the air is ``fresh and good''; summer days are filled with splashing in the stream of an open fire hydrant. Lotz's debut features vivid imagery and an almost hip-hop rhythm that give her punctuation-free prose an infectious verve. Occasional interjections from the girl's mother provide a more rounded picture of the book's characters. Browning's realistic watercolors highlight hues appropriate to each season--greens in spring, golden yellows and fiery reds in summer and autumn. Although the backgrounds furnish a wealth of big-city details, the characters' actions and emotional expressions have universal appeal. Ages 4-8. (June)