KATIE MORAG DELIVERS THE MAIL

In a fourth winning book about a small girl living on an island in western Scotland, Katie Morag helps out by delivering the weekly mail while her mother copes with the fractious baby. But stopping to play in the water leads to disaster: all the addresses smudge when she falls in, so she delivers the five parcels at random--which provides both humor and a survey of the Isle of Struay's summer inhabitants: Grannie in her overalls, busy mending her tractor; an artist; a tourist family that enjoys fishing; and a couple of locals. Grannie (aboard the mended tractor) helps Katie Morag straighten out the mix-up, and all ends peacefully as the two return home to find that the baby's tooth is in at last. The splendid visual detail that Hedderwick has brought to her other books continues here--from the many animals roaming every illustration (a cat eyeing chicks behind the stove, a dog sneaking a ride on the tractor) to such homey vignettes as boots drying and Dad tending the baby. The watercolor landscapes and the misty sea and sky at sundown are so evocative that you can smell the cool, salt breeze. And Katie Morag's safe, loving world is a comfort and an inspiration.