WINDOW

Baker's lastest plea for the environment, like Van Allsburg's Just a Dream (1990), is explicit: 12 views through the same framing window detail what happens during a single generation as ugly urban life crowds into a wilderness vista. The first picture's infant becomes a boy who litters and traps wild creatures; his toys evolve from plastic dinosaurs to rockets. In the 13th picture, he and his baby are looking out a new window on another forest where ``house blocks'' are already for sale. This talented Australian's collages of natural and other materials are especially suited to these beautifully evocative illustrations, in which the many carefully chosen details build a realistic picture of civilization's sorry progress. There's contagious concern here, and a great deal to ponder and discuss— even more powerful because the message is visual: a brief, last- page note is the only text.~(Picture book. 4+)