SONG OF THE EMPTY BOTTLES

Maybe this isn't much better than other poor boy-big wish stories, but it is, from end-papers to end, an exceptionally handsome book in a quiet way that betokens respect for its subject. Tom Feelings' rich, muted browns and grays (that you remember as color) are printed on stock as cool and smooth to the touch as the guitar Thaddeus earns by first selling empty bottles, then, after his source of supply is cut off, by making up a song about the bottles for his music teacher. Thaddeus' feeling for music is low-key and credible even if his gift for composition is a convenient solution, and the whole thing hangs loose. You'll like the people, like his song, like to look at the book and handle it.