THE MAGIC BOOTS

When a boy named William Wilkins puts on his red cowboy boots, his imagination can take him anywhere—to the Amazon River or the Wild West or the moon, flying on a magic carpet or camping out with a pack of jovial bears. When his feet outgrow the boots, William is understandably despondent. But after he falls asleep crying, he discovers he can still visit far-off places, since the magic is in his mind, not in his boots. This plot summary doesn't do justice to the genuine magic of newcomer Emerson's book. Post's bold, rich-toned illustrations capture the many moods and angles of William's imaginary wanderings, and the text, brief as it is, has the true ring of the way a kid talks and thinks. Imagination is a powerful concept for a young child, and this simple parable about it leaves all the awe and mystery marvelously intact. (Fiction/Picture book. All ages)