Puybaret (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Puff, the Magic Dragon) offers a beguilingly surreal interpretation of Harburg’s lyrics to the titular song, written for <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">The Wizard of Oz. Leading into the song’s familiar chorus is a lesser-known verse describing the world as a “hopeless jumble,” portrayed in Puybaret’s acrylic paintings as a rain-soaked, windblown cityscape. Giving a nod to the film, the setting shifts to a farm, where a rainbow appears at a girl’s window to lead her to “a place behind the sun, just a step beyond the rain.” There, cloud castles smile and wave, and planets and stars look kindly on the girl, as she gracefully floats alongside exotic, long-necked bluebirds. When she returns to her barnlike home, the creatures and celestial objects from her magical journey remain, turning the wistful tenor of the closing lines (“Why, oh, why can’t I?”) into a statement of defiance that speaks to the power of imagination. Creatively meshing folk-art flourishes with an ethereal sensibility, the illustrations well match the fantasy of the lyrics. Grammy-winner Judy Collins sings the title track and two other songs on an accompanying CD. Ages 4–8. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Mar.)

Gr 1-5 A musical classic inspires the creation of new images of sweeping horizons and fanciful creatures. The book includes a CD by singer Judy Collins. Her crystal-clear voice floats seamlessly through the lyrics, first as a solo, then joined by her piano accompaniment, broadening with succeeding lines and natural rhythmic interpretation of the words. Two additional songs interpreted by Collins make this brief CD a treasure"I See the Moon" (with children's chorus) and "White Coral Bells." Readers are treated to deep jewel tones as Puybaret carefully pulls them from one image to another with a succession of dreamlike scenesfrom a red barn and farmhouse to animated castles in the sky. Clouds and celestial objects float earthward to join a young girl on a journey beyond a rainbow into the upper atmosphere with dreams of impossibilities. The art is unique, delicate, and detailed. Raindrops fall with whisper-thin lines, elongated figures accentuate the hurried action and sweep of the wind, images appear in the clouds, a small child sleeps under the watchful eye of a parent amid musical notes along the path of the rainbow, and bluebirds become elongated creatures of grace. Reading this book with the CD requires awareness of traditionally repeated lines but adds to the shared experience. Mary Elam, Learning Media Services Plano ISD, TX