TIM AND THE BLANKET THIEF

Tim is, well, timid; unlike the boisterous other children Prater depicts in his engaging, freely rendered pencil-and- watercolor illustrations, he doesn't like ``noisy, messy fun or being splashed or roughhousing.'' What he does love, despite the teasing, is his blanket; and when a pointy-hatted creature—a sort of shadow with a shadow of its own—steals this constant companion while Tim sleeps, he sets out, with unaccustomed boldness, in a dreamlike pursuit over mountains and seas to the thief's ``dreadful lair.'' Tim's brave demand for his blanket dissipates the thief's ``huge darkness,'' whereupon the lad retrieves not only his own but a hoard of other ``blankets, teddy bears, and best-loved toys'' and goes home to a hero's welcome. In the manner of Martin Waddell, Prater relates this child-sized drama with kindly humor and real empathy, and without a trace of condescension. Nice. (Picture book. 3-6)