Alpha and the Dirty Baby

Cole ( The Goats ; The Giant's Toe ) further enhances his standing as a gifted author and illustrator with this boisterous, highly original tale. Sensing an opportunity in a parental spat, two devil's imps turn Alpha's Papa and Mama into a lump of coal and a green egg, respectively. ``But an imp is never satisfied with one evil deed when he can do another,'' so they assume the parents' identities and invade the house. Accompanied by their dirty baby (one of the goofiest-looking infants ever to grace the pages of a picture book), they proceed to turn Alpha's home upside-down. (``Sweep the ashes out of the fire, Alpha. The floor's too clean.'') But Alpha, as resourceful as the best fairy tale heroines, bides her time until she sees an opportunity of her own--and seizes it with glorious results. Cole's text is understated and poetic, and his line and wash illustrations--showing limbs flailing helter-skelter--are supremely stimulating, whether depicting Alpha's quiet fortitude or her parents' riotous metamorphoses. Cole's imagination triumphs again. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)