A Guest Is a Guest

``A guest is a guest, and we must show them our best'' is the Beanbuckets family motto--one that apparently extends even to guests of the four-legged and feathered varieties. But the animals and birds on the Beanbuckets farm have obviously not heard Oscar Wilde's maxim about fish and guests (both start to smell after a few days), and soon the family is sharing its home (and its table, TV, shower et al.) with the entire barnyard. Finally Farmer B. cries, ``When enough is enough, you have to get tough,'' but it's young Billy Beanbuckets who hatches the idea that saves the day. Himmelman ( The Ups and Downs of Simpson Snail ; Amanda & the Witch Switch ) has created a droll delight, and the book's final page, depicting the Beanbuckets and their menagerie cozily asleep--in the barn--is bound to elicit howls of laughter. Ages 4-7. (May)