The Pirates of Bedford Street

Gr 1-3 An interesting blend of realism and fantasy. Joey's imagination is stim ulated by the movies he attends each Saturday. As he leaves the theater, he continues the adventures of Redbeard the Pirate in his mind and in the chalk images he draws on every available sur face. The illustrations are dark water colors, rich with warm red and gold tones that capture both the realistic multi-ethnic setting and the imagined pirate adventures. Viewers look down from various distances as Joey uses the squares of cement in the sidewalk as his drawing board. Imagined images grow in size and importance from one corner of the realistic setting as the typography changes to italics for the narration of the pirate images. Adult characters in this story are wonderfully supportive of the child's soaring imagination. Papa does ``have a long talk'' with Joey, but he also helps him clean the basement, the sidewalk, and the steps. A neighbor who scolds Joey also gives him crayons and a drawing pad so ``now when you draw you can keep your pictures.'' A treat for imaginative youngsters. Kay E. Vandergrift, School of Communica tion, Information and Library Studies, Rutgers Univ . , New Brunswick, N.J.

Copyright 1988 Cahners Business Information, Inc.