The Talking Cloth

Mitchell (illustrator of Sleep Song) displays a talent for portraiture in this winning first solo effort. Her oil paintings crisply silhouette expressive African American characters and boldly hued, patterned fabrics against spare white backdrops. In the tale, energetic Aunt Phoebe, a ""collector of life"" whose home overflows with treasures, shows wide-eyed Amber one of her acquisitions: a finely embroidered and hand-printed adinkra cloth from Ghana, at one point reserved for royalty. Such fabrics ""talk,"" explains Aunt Phoebe, who then describes the meaning of some colors and symbols. The illustrations can be static and the settings undefined, but the characters' faces illuminate their personalities and their rapport with one another. Though Mitchell's text contains bits of convincing dialogue, it is the portraits that reveal Amber's father's good-natured skepticism about the value of his sister's ""junk pile,"" Aunt Phoebe's satisfaction in sharing her finds and-most glowingly-Amber's delight when, in her quick imagination, the adinkra transforms her into an Ashanti princess. Ages 4-7. (Mar.)