Green Musketeers and the Fabulous Frogs,

``It would probably be easier to teach my hamster to Hula-Hoop than to make our planet as clean and green as it should be,'' says Samantha Ripley, the narrator of this chirpy and politically correct story. ``But we figured we had to start somewhere.'' Sam and the rest of her fifth-grade class (except for smug Valerie James) form a group called the Green Musketeers, hoping to save the town's unique Big Bog Tree Frog from extinction by getting the frog declared the town mascot. Their campaign runs up against obstacles from city hall, but of course the kids surmount them all. Like Eco-Kids #1 (see below), St. Antoine's novel, also the first in a series, is somewhat idealized and the characters clearly intended to function as role models for the reader. A second installment, The Green Musketeers and the Incredible Energy Escapade , is scheduled for simultaneous release. Ages 8-12. (Apr.)