TV Dinner

Everitt's (Mean Soup) latest picture book again depicts a fantasy world where kids rule. This time out an adventurous girl hungry for something different doesn't choose soup or ``something nice'' but rather opts to have a TV dinner-literally. Daisy Lee chomps on the various channels and programming, crunches the knobs and buttons, and saves the remote control for last. Although she claims the fare tasted great, a Godzilla movie and other shows running loose in her stomach cause some temporary queasiness-but nothing serious enough to deter her from making even bigger plans for dessert. Everitt's rhyming, breezy writing tries hard to buoy this flimsy premise. Children may welcome the irreverent mood here, though many of them may question the logic behind Daisy's desire to devour an appliance. The visuals here, however, stand out, as Everitt's energetic and loosely rendered gouaches threaten to escape the colorful and inventive borders on each page. Ages 3-8. (Sept.)