Amadou Alpiniste, by Alexis Peiry. Paris: Désciée de Brouwer. 36 pages; 16 photographs by Suzi Pilet. Price $1.72.

This charming book for children tells the story of little Amadou, whose greatest friend, a seasoned rock climber, is killed by lightning during an ascent of the Roche Percée in the little-known rocky range of the Castlosen in Switzerland. Amadou makes a vow to commemorate his friend by putting a cross with an inscription on the spot where his friend died. His climbing apprenticeship, his hair-raising adventures on the mountain, admirably illustrated by Suzi Pilet, the simplicity and the poetic atmosphere of this little idyll, should win many young friends for the mountains. There is much sound advice for incipient climbers, and the various routes on the mountain are excellently explained. This is a most refreshing little book.

Ursula Corning