Flavia's Dream Maker Stories #1: Elephant Prince, the

According to the prefaces of these Dream Maker books, eight ``trusted storytellers'' were chosen by Father Time ``to spread magical tales throughout the world''--each of these somewhat precious volumes represents a selection. In the first, ``an original American tale,'' a lonely bruin takes comfort in a snow bear he constructs; when his wintertime pal must leave, he discovers the friendship offered by memories. The title character of The Ragged Peddler, a tale of Middle Eastern origin, brings happiness to a village ``in which the people complained and grumbled all the time.'' Tears shed by the eponymous girl in the third tale (from Japan) prove to be the source of fireflies, while the fourth book, inspired by an old Nordic tale, concerns a poor man's son who triumphs over finer fellows to win a princess's heart. The narratives seem attenuated, as if to fit a predetermined length. And, although Weedn's all-animal casts radiate an appealing insouciance, the stories' general absence of action often makes the pictures seem superfluous. Ages 4-8. (Apr.)