THE BATTLE OF REUBEN ROBIN & KITE UNCLE JOHN

The battle for a length of string, between an old man with a kite (called, reasonably enough, Kite Uncle John) and a bound-determined robin who wants the kite string for his nest, ends when Kite Uncle John manages to reel in the kite with bird attached (""still flapping, feet braced against nothing, Reuben Robin came skidding down the sky""), then tosses the robin a tuft of his own beard as material for the nest. After that, as Kite Uncle John is a patient man, ""he gave his beard and he flew his kite every March for the rest of his life."" Mary Calhoun's easy colloquial lilt and Janet McCaffery's breezy pictures keep this lightweight contrivance aloft.