THREE WISHES
by Lucille Clifton & illustrated by Michael Hays
A reworking of the folk tale, originally part of the TV program ``Free to Be...You and Me'' and also published as a picture book in 1976, in an attractive third incarnation. Lightly flavored with the cadences of black speech, the story concerns Lena, who wastes the first two wishes of her New Year's good-luck penny on the weather and wishing her best friend to go away because she's annoyed with him; the third wish brings him back, confirming the strength of their friendship, if not of the penny. Hays's glowing realistic paintings of Lena and her friend Victor are set against gentle, more generalized backgrounds: a fine new setting for an appealing story from a favorite author. (Picture book. 4-8)