LBERTO AND THE WIND

Gilberto's unpredictable friend is the Wind. This Wind, unlike many depicted in children's books, does not blast air from his mouth or show anger in bulging eyes-- for this the reader should be grateful! He exists to the imaginative Spanish boy only because of what he sees in a very real world-- the rickety gate swaying back and forth; shirts puffing out on the clothes line; kites soaring in the sky. Miss Ets' penciled drawings on gray backgrounds are skillfully designed and sensitively executed. However, Gilberto is sometimes portrayed with the scowling face of an old man which greatly detracts from the mood which has been established.