Sweet Dreams

Lansky (The New Adventures of Mother Goose) offers up a mixed bag of verses in this forgettable picture book. Original poems and ""updated"" lullabies (set to familiar tunes like ""Good Night, Ladies,"" and ""Frere Jacques"") range from the tender (""Snuggle me, snuggle me, snuggle me, do./ There's no one I'd rather be snuggling than you"") to the downright embarrassing, as in this stanza from ""Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Plane"": ""Flashing lights are on your wings/ so you won't bump into things/ How I hope your trip will be/ smooth and safe and trouble-free."" For those who always wished that ""Rock-a-Bye Baby"" had a happier ending, here it is: ""When the birds sing, the baby will smile,/ and fall asleep happy in a short while."" Wehrman's illustrations are overly dependent upon shades of teal and purple which are more noxious than soothing, and are so mired in frou-frou decoration (hearts, stars, long eyelashes and rainbows) that they have little to recommend them. Ages 1-5. (Aug.)