ON THE TRAIL WITH MISS PACE

Miss Pace, elementary school teacher, cools her heels at a dude ranch over summer vacation. So happens that on said dude ranch resides her beau, Last Bob. So happens that also on said dude ranch are vacationing her students, the twins Phil and Bill. A charming romance follows therefrom, with the boys conspiring to get the sweethearts together as much as possible. Denslow keeps the twins goofily sweet (just where are their parents, anyhow?), Miss Pace patiently game, and Last Bob, well, he's cut in the classic cowboy mode: ghostly, strong, silent, mustachioed. When Miss Pace and Last Bob get a kiss in under the aurora borealis's shimmering curtain of light, it sure is a pretty sight. So simple a love song should not be treated lightly: It is an endangered species that deserves protection. Karas's western landscapes feature a happy mix of media—acrylic paintings and dried wildflowers, bandannas and twine, leather and pewter cowboy boots. The entire assembly gets an additional lift from its modestly altered-state, cartoon style: streams warble, peaks tower, The Big Empty beckons, the night sky croons. Happy trails. (Picture book. 4-7)