EEK THE PIPER

ike Galinka, the Wild Goose, this story traces the adventurous journey, with all its natural pitfalls, of a wild animal. Peek was the name given to a baby fieldmouse by Paul and Natasha, who discovered him. His travels began when the two children floated him down the river in one of their toy sailboats. As he ventured across water and land to settle down in his little island home, he had frequent dangerous encounters with predators, and was then confronted with the problems involved in facing the ensuing winter months. Eventually he made his way back to the house of Natasha and Paul, who tamed him, provided him with a safe, cozy home, and entertained him by playing flutes. Peek's fight for survival is told with matter-of-fact simplicity, tempered with the mildly fanciful, reassuring ending. The realistically drawn animals are also graceful in the excellent black-and-white illustrations.