Fog

An ominous fog ``rolls down the mountain'' and wraps itself around a house where a family huddles inside watching ``the cloud of silver cotton candy'' grow closer. As Grandma repeats the phrase ``It wants something,'' the family members try to ward off their fears with silly suggestions: the fog wants the leaky faucet fixed; it wants the family to get another cat. Grandma finally decides that ``the fog came for music,'' and what began as a gloomy day turns into one of singing and dancing. The gray, luminiscent paintings capture the fog's enveloping presence; as the mood lightens, more color is subtly introduced into each scene. In both text and pictures, however, no mood is set; the narrative begins and ends too abruptly. Though this simple story attempts to demonstrate how a strange occurrence of nature can create a household event, the tone seems at odds with the proceedings. Ages 4-up. (Sept.)