One day, while playing in an empty lot, Jack discovers a mysterious tunnel and fearlessly goes exploring. When he fails to return, his sister, Rose, who is characterized as a "wimp," reluctantly and fearfully sets out to find him. Rose, who "stayed inside on her own, reading and dreaming" finds that the tunnel leads to a wood that grows increasingly forbidding as massive tree trunks take on weird and sinister shapes. Despite her mounting fear, though, she continues her search, finding Jack at last, magically turned to stone. Weeping, she hugs him and her tears return him to life. If this sounds cliched, it is. The text is flat, the story skimpy and without depth. The Tunnel lacks not only the wit and freshness of the author's Willy the Wimp and Gorilla (both Knopf, 1985), but it starts on a distressingly sexist note as well. Rose's bravery at the end is somehow not enough to remove the stereotyped characterization. The illustrations, on the other hand, are technically superb, and have great dramatic impact. The double spread of Browne's surreal wood is most effective, and gives readers lots to look at and think about (especially the image of Red Riding Hood's wolf, first seen in a picture over Rose's bed). Browne's arresting and psychologically intense illustrations offer far more excitement and meaning than his anemic text. --Linda Boyles, Alachua County Library District, Gainesville, FL Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.