What If?

Minarik (Little Bear and Graham (Harry the Dog, absent too long from children's books, return with the wintry tale of two striped kittens, Pit and Pat, thrown out into the cold by their owners for trying to climb the Christmas tree. The two begin a series of wishful ""what ifs,'' imagining their own tree reaching the sky, decorated with ice mice and icicles, and a gigantic slide down to earth and snow from the highest branches. Then they ask, ``What if we scratch on the door?'' They do, and their one true wish is realized. This is very much a primer for readers on the art of wishing, and they soon will discover that the sky is, indeed, the limit, especially around Christmas. Graham's kittens are nicely dolled up for this holiday story; loosely dispersed snow dots and close-at-hand night stars bring the wish world nearer. Ages 36. (August)