Sad Underwear and Other Complications: More Poems for Children and Their Parents

Fans of Viorst's If I Were in Charge of the World will welcome this confection of light verse. Indicative of the child-centered approach, the category ``Stuff You Should Know'' includes the poem ``Item of Information'': ``Just in case/ You were wondering what a disgrace is:/ It's, when you're in public,/ Scratching in private places.'' A poem in the ``Questions'' section asks, ``Who decided that vegetables are something a growing child needs?'' Other sections contain built-up knock-knock jokes or revamped fairy tales (e.g., Beauty laments that, once the spell was broken, ``everyone thinks he's the beauty and I'm the beast''). Less fanciful than his full-color illustrations for Viorst's The Alphabet from Z to A, Hull's pen-and-ink drawings fill the pages with birds, unicorns, flowers and moons, but they do not reflect the variety of topics Viorst addresses. These poems skim the surface, breaking no new ground, but children will be entertained by their breezy simplicity and humor. Ages 7-up. (Apr.)