ST. PATRICK'S DAY IN THE MORNING

Somewhere in Ireland, on Saint Patrick's day in the morning, Jamie wakes up early, resenting that he's too small to walk in the parade. So he dons his mother's raincoat, his father's hat, and his brother's green sash, takes another brother's flute, and with his dog Nell marches about in his own parade. Along the way Hobble the Hen Man gives him an egg, Mrs. Simms at the sweet shop (open early, it seems) gives him some ginger ale and a wee flag, he enjoys his drink on the parade's-end platform set up for the day's festivities, and then heads home with proud thoughts of the music he's played. Other small children might enjoy sharing underdog Jamie's secret, while sharing at the same time the author's pointed skepticism as to the beauty of his music. But they are unlikely to see the outing as much of a lark. Bunting tries too hard for color and imagery without supplying any narrative structure or incidents; and Brett's green and black drawings are just drab.