Wimp CL

When Arnold the piglet finds himself beset by bullies, even his big sister, Rose, is unable to help him. He shouts, ``Get lost!'' as she'd suggested, but Clyde and Watson still grab his homework and tear it up; when Rose herself tells them to back off, she and Arnold end up getting blamed for Clyde and Watson's swinish pranks. The next day, Arnold and Rose, now equally cowed, walk to school early in an attempt to avoid their tormentors. As it turns out, Clyde and Watson are already there-and Arnold figures out a nonviolent way of hoisting them by their own petard. Caple's (The Biggest Nose; The Purse) expressive watercolors portray Arnold's dilemma in a gently humorous, reassuring light; she is especially skilled at painting his reactions, which range from pop-eyed fright to grim determination to a sort of dreamy resignation. But while she introduces Arnold's problem through believable and easily recognized incidents, her tidy resolution will disappoint readers hoping for insights into dealing with schoolyard tyrants. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)