THE TWO REDS

A boy with red hair and a red cat are enemies, for the cat is interested in the boy's bowl of goldfish, but they live in the same neighborhood in New York City and walk the same streets. The boy is interested in everything and the cat considers everything in the light of possible food. When the boy is caught as a spy by the Seventh Street Signal Senders and running from them, the cat is running from an irate fishmonger from whom he has just stolen a small fish and when the two chases collide the boy and the cat walk away from the danger -- ready to be friends. New York backyards offer a new setting for this story which may be, however, a bit too adult and sophisticated for the age-level at which it is directed. Nicolas' illustrations are bold, angular, modern in essence, and in vivid reds and yellows, and some are on colored pages. Not for those brought up on more traditional books.