FUN/NO FUN

Once again, Stevenson finds an imaginative and appealing perspective from which to present America as it was when he was growing up a couple of generations ago, in this case with eponymous pairs that reveal preferences universal (cowboy boots/galoshes) or individual (ice skates/roller skates); surprisingly few are unique to the period, though the freedom with which the young observer roams has a carefree confidence that's getting harder to find. The understated humor here is in the details and unexpected juxtapositions and the variety of subjects; Stevenson's watercolor vignettes, sketched with the brush with no added lines, continue to be almost miraculously spare and evocative. Authentic and fun. (Autobiography/Picture book. 5-9)