MR. JORDAN IN THE PARK

Coats continues her specialty of quiet stories illustrated in soft hues (e.g., Marcella and the Moon) with a contemplative look at the life of old Mr. Jordan, who has been visiting the same park since he was a baby. Like Shakespeare's player on life's stage, he has played many parts; appropriately for the intended audience, several of these are in childhood and others are child-centered. He is shown as a baby in a carriage, and then as a toddler, a baseball player, a young man courting, a father, an old man sitting in the sun. Attire changes over his 80 years, though other details in the park remain the same. The illustrations are technically adroit and have a misty stillness suggesting distant memories. Not outstanding, but a nice way to introduce the concepts of time's passage and aging to young children.