BOOKS FOR KIDS

MILO’S HAT TRICK By Jon Agee Hyperion/di Capua: 32 pp., $15.95

With marvelously economical narration and line drawings, Jon Agee conjures a formidable tale of a struggling magician. Milo could be Little Orphan Annie’s uncle or a caricature of John Lennon. His brick-red mop of hair and thick mustache bracket pupil-less eyes and a voluminous nose and a too-tight gray suit adds to his hangdog appearance. Onstage, he’s no Houdini. He doesn’t even have a rabbit for his act, and in trying to catch one (by dangling a carrot from a stick), he attracts a brown bear. This incident provides the absurd turning point of the story, for the immense animal executes a flawless dive into Milo’s top hat (“You just pretend your bones are made of rubber. It’s a secret I learned from a rabbit,” the bear explains). Sitcom developments follow: The bear nonchalantly agrees to perform, Milo loses his furry friend on the train and the top hat walks the New York City streets on two clawed feet. Agee sets off the delectably farfetched story line with pared-down charcoal-and-watercolor illustrations, and the strong planes and diagonals of his cityscapes recall Ben Katchor’s comics. Understated writing complements the surreal images; when the hat finally reaches the theater, “Milo whistled and out popped the bear. ‘Boy,’ said the bear, ‘am I glad to see you!”’ In this accomplished book, Agee’s plot twists are as surprising as, well, pulling a bear out of a hat. (Ages 3 and up)

ROCKS IN HIS HEAD By Carol Otis Hurst Illustrated by James Stevenson HarperCollins/Greenwillow: 32 pp., $15.95

With great affection and an appealing nostalgia, Carol Otis Hurst recounts the story of her father, an avid rock collector from the time he was a boy. When people commented that “he had rocks in his pockets and rocks in his head,” he would answer with an agreeable “Maybe I have,” then reach into his pocket and eagerly add, “Take a look at this one.” This response, conveying both the hero’s humility and his passion, becomes a recurring refrain. Stevenson conveys the fellow’s easygoing manner with elegant pen-and-ink wash illustrations. Together, author and artist chart the boy’s growth into manhood and touch on the world events that shape him. As a young man, he opens a filling station, where he displays his labeled rocks and minerals and learns how to repair the then-new Model T. After the Depression shuts down his business, he moves his cherished collection into the attic of his home, finding odd jobs wherever he can. The story’s conclusion will prove as satisfying to readers as it was to Hurst’s father: The director of the local museum offers him a dream job--the position of curator of mineralogy. Dominated by earth tones, Stevenson’s artwork convincingly evokes both the personality of this endearing protagonist and the period in which he lived. An emphatic endorsement for youngsters to follow their passions. (Ages 5 and up)

BALONEY (HENRY P.)By Jon Scieszka Illustrated by Lane Smith Viking: 32 pp., $15.99

This book’s gleaming silver cover and little green namesake signal intergalactic adventure. Fortunately, Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith prefer innovation to UFO cliches, and this tale of an alien truant is also a language game. Lime-colored, freckled Henry P. Baloney is late for class and faces “Permanent Lifelong Detention” from Miss Bugscuffle. He concocts an excuse that spools across the pages in emphatic italicized letters. “‘I would have been exactly on time,’ said Henry. ‘But ... I misplaced my trusty zimulis. Then I ... um ... found it on my deski. “‘ Smith’s airbrush-speckled collages zoom from a close-up of a pencil to Henry leaning over a kidney-shaped desk; thus, “zimulis” and “deski” enter the vocabulary. Henry goes on to describe being crowned “kuningas” of another planet and almost getting shot with a “blassa.” A “Decoder” at the back of the book reveals that all 20 unfamiliar terms are either non-English (the Dutch “speelplaats” means “playground”) or wordplay (“flying saucer” becomes “sighing flosser “). Contextual cues allow readers with no prior knowledge of Italian, Latvian and Polish to comprehend Henry P.’s hyperbole: “I jammed the razzo controls with my zimulis so I could land behind szkola and still be on time,” says Henry, and Smith pictures a rocket console, a variety of dials and Henry’s pencil. Amateur linguists will have a field day exploring this non-nonsense. (All ages)

WAFFLE By Chris Raschka Atheneum/Jackson: 40 pp., $16

Once again, Chris Raschka, author of “Yo! Yes?” and “Ring! Yo?” captures the essence of a mood with the merest hint of text and the briefest of brush strokes. Waffle, a likable fellow who resembles a vaudevillian character draped in what looks like checked plus fours and high-laced boots, seems capable only of worrying. “Waffle wondered what if--/Waffle wished that he would--/ Waffle wanted to, well--/ Waffle would if he were--.” Each turn of the page reveals the fellow in another hand-wringing pose, clearly trying to work himself up for something. A visual Greek chorus of laughing, multicolored smiley faces watches his anxiety mount. They reorganize themselves into squares, heart shapes and pinwheels while Waffle turns in emotional circles. Just as the fellow’s consternation peaks (“Waffle waffled. He felt awful. He was a waffler and wafflers waffle”), Raschka gives way to two spreads filled with the hero swimming in the repeated word “WAFFLE.” By the end of the second spread, the letters of the word rearrange themselves into “flew.” The Greek chorus, astonished, witnesses the hero as he overcomes his fear and flies. Working in acrylic and ink on a succession of ever-changing solid-color backgrounds, Raschka conjures Waffle from a dash of lines and squiggles atop a broad swoop of color. With characteristic impressionistic artistic vision, the author-artist plumbs Waffle’s emotional depths until the hero comes up on top. (Ages 4 to 7)

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All reviews are provided to Book Review by Publishers Weekly, where they first appeared. 2001, Publishers Weekly.