Manuelo, a praying mantis, loves to listen to the outdoor concerts near the meadow where he lives. Though he doesn't have a way of making music with his body, like crickets or katydids, he tries to make a flute from a cattail and a horn from a trumpet flower--unsuccessfully. A cheerful spider offers to help and sends Manuelo to find half a walnut shell and a curlicued stick. She spins strings for him, and Manuelo makes a cello with a bluebird feather for a bow. Freeman died in 1978, but most of the illustrations here are his; several others were finished from his sketches by Jody Wheeler. The art features delicate lines, soft, bright colors, and a certain whimsy: it's hard not to be charmed by the sight of the mantis playing for an audience of frogs and insects. Friends of Corduroy will want to meet Manuelo, too. GraceAnne DeCandido Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved