Night Ride

The nighttime car trip taken by a boy and his mother is the idea that prompts this picture book, which depicts the various thingsan amusement park, a night ballgame, roadside deerone might see during such a venture. The illustrations are evocative of the nocturnal world; the artist aptly renders images that are particular to the night and suggest ways in which daytime perceptions become transformed after dark. The text is an inferior frame in which to hang the illustrations, however; consisting solely of dialogue, without any linking narrative, it reads in a flat and disjointed manner. Despite the pleasing visuals, readers may consider this journey of too little consequence to repeat. Ages 3-7. (Sept.)