WILLIE THE WHEEL

A wheel finds more fulfillment in work than in being a work of art in this rough-hewn tale. Though happy enough being a park sculpture, drawing birds and children by creaking around in the breeze, Willie confesses to the Moon a longing for new sights. When an appreciative politician has him uprooted and trucked off to parts unknown, Willie escapes, rolling through town until he’s finally too bent to travel. After dreaming of flying with the Moon, he is ultimately rescued from the garbage by a handyman who includes him as part of an antique-style bicycle—as Chenn so cleverly puts it: “a ‘moving’ piece of art.” The vibrant colors on the dust jacket fade to dull, muddy tones inside, but the modernistic paper collage and scribble illustrations are more arty than inviting anyway, and like the plot, are unlikely to make much of an impression on young viewers. Tales from “Gingerbread Boy” to Deborah Lund’s All Aboard the Dinotrain (April 2006), illustrated by Howard Fine, better celebrate the joys and sorrows of going mobile. (Picture book. 6-8)