The Spring Hat

Unlike the artist's Under the Blanket , this colorful wordless picture book is sweet and slight as a greeting card. As mother bunny rests on a picnic blanket, her three children inadvertently sail her hat like a frisbee into the river. With the help of their friends, the children fashion a wreath of flowers to present to their mother to wear. The decorative, pastel-colored artwork is clear but insipid. Gill does not distinguish one bunny from the others except by the colors of their shirts. Happiness is converted to sadness by no change of expression except the rabbits' line-drawn smiles turned upside-down. Similarly, when the youngsters lose the hat, their alarm is indicated by their standing in a row like clones on the river bank--arms raised and ears up in exactly the same position. Animals often appear to float in the air because they are not grounded in the scene. Full-color pages alternate abruptly with empty backgrounds on which bodies inexplicably fade into white. However blithe, these illustrations are too unvaried and too weak to sustain interest. Emily Arnold McCully's winsome wordless books starring a mouse family ( Picnic ; School ; First Snow ) provide much more drama and emotion. Ages 3-6. (Feb.)