The Little Green Dragon Steps Out

Life imitates literature--or, more accurately, emerges from literature--in this second Green Dragon escapade. When Anna falls asleep clutching ``her favorite bedtime storybook,'' the pages part to reveal the Little Green Dragon, out for a nocturnal amble. The mischievous creature explores Anna's room, viewing his surroundings with a fresh eye: a roller skate becomes a four-wheeler (guided by a pencil-turned-paddle), a badminton shuttlecock makes dashing headgear. But curiosity gives way to acquisitive tendencies, and the dragon returns to his bookish abode dragging numerous newfound treasures. The next morning Anna's book provides a startling surprise, in a fanciful, somewhat surrealistic ending that may perplex more than it entertains. Baumgart's droll pictures aptly propel this slender story, but his dragon lacks personality and panache--the scaly protagonist of Dav Pilkey's Dragon books, for example, is far more scintillating. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)