The story of Ivan the Fool, the little humpbacked horse he gains by freeing a splendid white mare, and the Firebird's feather he rashly steals--almost to his undoing--is one of the most winning of Post Wheeler's Russian Wonder Tales; and in this slim volume it will reach youngsters who'd never find it there. But the book, modeled after pre-Revolutionary Russian picture books (decorative borders, landscape insets, a large illustration at alternate openings), is tasteful rather than resplendent, and the actual illustrations are wishy-washy, well-nigh bland, without any character or force. For a story with strongly individuated personalities, with humor, action, and romance--expertly retold, as usual, by Margaret Hodges--it's a totally unimaginative, largely unresponsive presentation. The hand-lettered captions and the rather elegant typography do, however, suggest that there's something unusual here, if not just what; and there is.