FOUR STORIES FOR FOUR SEASONS

. . . about four friends--namely Master Dog, Missy Cat, Mistress Pig, and Mister Frog, who mince and gush their way through four inconsequential tales. They take a spill while rowing (""Are you all right, Kitty dear?""); they all plant gardens and admire each other's (""You must tell me your secret"". . . . ""I'm so pleased you like it""), though Dog's turns out to be a bone garden; ""Piggy Sweet"" has a dinner party but ""samples"" all the food away while her guests wait to be served (""Oh Piggy dear, don't cry""); and Frog wakes from a ""tiny nap"" just in time to experience Christmas, which he usually sleeps through (""Oh Froggy, you would love it!""). But whatever humor was intended doesn't surface in all this simpering small talk--and the pictures are just stock de Paola.