Mollywoop

Heine ( Friends ; The Pearl ) introduces three animal friends in these breezy snippets of verse, artfully translated by Manheim. Cleverly rhymed couplets reveal Percy the pig, Charlie the rooster and Johnny the mouse cavorting in the land of Mollywoop. The frisky trio plays musical instruments, rides a bicycle, dresses in costumes, takes a bath, raids a food closet and visits with another friend. Occasionally, Heine slips a worthwhile nugget of advice into his poems (``A bike, unless you keep it clean, / Will rust and won't be worth a bean''). Each vignette--aided by perky, endearing pictures--reinforces the volume's underlying theme about the importance of friendship. It's a message no child can hear too often. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)