THE STRANGE APPEARANCE OF HOWARD CRANEBILL, JR.

Strange appearance"" because baby Howard shows up one morning on the Cranebills' doorstep--and also because of his unusually long and pointy nose, which sticks straight out from his face. (Despite their name, Mr. and Mrs. Cranebill have normal noses.) The Cranebills, who have longed for a child, take the baby in, but they are disturbed by his habit of climbing their big pear tree. Finally, Howard spends several days in the pear tree, where he grows feathery wings and long legs and, behold, turns into a stork--then flies off with a flock of his kind. ""The unusually long and pointy nose didn't seem out of place any more."" Drescher's briskly witty New-Wave-y drawings go a long way toward carrying off this waggish ugly-duckling makeover.