Senora Reganona

Of minimal substance, Sanroman's first book gains little heft from Domi's semi-abstract art, which manages to be both childlike and ominous. Staring out from the cover is the multihued title character, who represents the night: ""For ever so long I thought the night was a dreadful creature. I called her Senora Reganona."" (The name, translated only on the flap copy, means Old Grouch). The young narrator attempts to ward off Senora Reganona by placing a light under the bedclothes. One evening the protagonist falls asleep without the light, and the plot follows a well-worn path: the child flies out into the night to frolic with Senora Reganona. From high in the sky, the dreamer observes: ""Down below were my safe bed and my safe house sleeping soundly while we played, my new friend, Senora Reganona and I."" There Sanroman's tale abruptly ends, leaving the narrator, as well as readers, hanging--quite literally--in thin air. Domi, whose work won a Mexican contest for picture-book illustrators from the Americas, clearly draws on Mexican folk art for her imagery, but her psychedelic palette, toothy characters and overactive patterns create a fitful sense of unease--hardly the right mood for a self-proclaimed bedtime story. Ages 3-5. (Apr.)