Sonny Joe and the Ringdom Rhymes

When Sonny Joe's family desert the city and settle in the country, the frustrated little boy vents his anger on the wildlife and rips the wing off a butterfly. He's immediately confronted by a pair of pixieish creatures who conduct him through a sequence of purgatorial metamorphoses-from child to snail to spider to owl and back to child again-aimed at making him a better person. The book is bright with lavish, but somewhat twee, illustrations that seem to suit its preachiness. A fairly interesting yarn, but rather sanctimonious and unfair to city dwellers.