There Once Was a Puffin

Originally written more than 25 years ago, Jaques's Lear-like limerick makes a virtue of simplicity, affectingly conveying its message in just a few lines. Living on an island surrounded by fish, a solitary Puffin (``Just the shape of a muffin'') is pining away for want of a pal-``So he sat on his island,/ And he cried for a while, and/ He felt very lonely,/ And he felt very small.'' But the fish have the answer (``You can have us for playmates/ Instead of for tea!''), and now the Puffin subsists on a landlubber's diet-with company at every meal. Kvasnosky's (Pink, Red, Blue-What Are You?) full-spread illustrations-rendered as crisply outlined swaths of clear, bright colors-add personality and pizazz. Her carefully composed pictures match the poem's forthright tone; together, text and art relay a beguiling tale of friendship found in unexpected form. Ages 2-4. (May)