JOHNNY LONGNOSE

First published in Switzerland, these brief poems by an Andersen medalist explicate a series of surreal paintings of a Pinocchio-like boy with a very long nose--a nose that he uses in a dozen imaginative ways: as the mast for a boat, the ridgepole for a house, or even the body of a dove of peace. Some of the uses are more whimsical than logical: What would happen next if he used his nose as an arrow? And how, exactly, could a violinist use it for a bow? The beautifully designed and crafted paintings are European in flavor, with Johnny's remarkable poses set in luminous, otherworldly landscapes of minimal detail. The graceful poems are mildly amusing; they serve to caption the illustrations and occasionally also to extend their meaning in intriguing ways: ""This bird's my brother""--the two together forming a cross.