Goosebumps & Butterflies

The anxieties and frets of preschoolers are the subject of this winning collection of simple verses. Like Jack Prelutsky, Nave taps into the concerns and worries of childhood: she explores what it feels like when a child sits on her grandpa's glasses or reaches the top of a slide and wishes he were at the bottom. The charm here lies in the many recognizable plights of the beleaguered characters. Whether suffering from jitters in math class or stage fright at a dance recital (``Will somebody kindly / Pull the curtain ?!), young readers are sure to respond to these scenes of childhood angst. In one particularly evocative verse, a girl stares forlornly at her fishbowl, wishing for a pet she ``could kiss and hug and hold.'' Energetic and cheerful, Nave's cartoon-like illustrations are a lovely complement to her poetic crises. Ages 4-7. (Aug.)