FARM BOY'S YEAR

A diary-style text plus a drawing and a luminous painting for each month a century ago in coastal Newburyport, Massachusetts. Ice-cutting, the last day of school, haying, apple-picking, etc., are briefly touched on in an attempt to give the flavor of another era. But there are numerous minor inaccuracies and implausibilities: making 23 gallons of maple syrup in a single day with the equipment shown is a tall-tale feat; a boy wouldn't have been likely to help his mother bake bread, or to have his stomach turned cleaning fish he had competently caught. In the art, this ``twelve-year-old's'' proportions are those of a child of six, while his height suggests a maximum of eight. Too little plot to make a story, and too careless in detail for informational value. Popular though McPhail may be, how could a responsible editor pass along this thoughtless nostalgia? (Picture book. 4-8)