THE QUIET EVENING

A quiet bedtime book, in simple sentences that alternate between what's going on at ""our house""--""The clock is ticking softly""; ""the fire has gone out""; ""our dog is asleep on the rug""--and in the larger world: ""the fish in the ocean have all gone to sleep""; ""the trees are rustling and the river is flowing."" Except that Hurd's awkward, childlike paintings are subdued and quiet as well, the book seems patterned after Goodnight Moon--but this is devoid of the mystery that draws children back to Goodnight Moon, and instead of the older book's hypnotic imagery Hurd provides coy notions (""the clock is talking to itself""),:poetical burbles and gurgles (literally: ""The river burbles and gurgles as it runs./The river is whispering to its banks""), and mushy nonsense (""The ocean has wrapped its arms around all its fish and sea monsters""). Soft.