MICHAEL BIRD-BOY

There's no hint of how Michael Bird-Boy got his name or why he always wears a costume of white feathers and beak, but that only adds an aura of gentle fantasy to a story that can't afford to be taken literally anyway. It tells how Michael, who lives happily in the country, goes off to the city to fred what is causing the ugly black cloud that has dirtied the sky, and ends up teaching an overalled, red haired Boss-Lady--who runs the polluting Artificial Honey Syrup factory--how to make real honey using bees and flowers. Michael Bird-Boy and Boss-Lady hit it off nicely, and their story is saved from the banalities of the plot by de Paola's rejection of pseudorealism in favor of a sweet, muted dream.