Donald Has a Difficulty

Publishers reissue some favorite titles and characters this spring. Donald and the... (1969) and Donald Has a Difficulty (1970) by Peter F. Neumeyer, illus. by Edward Gorey each chronicle events of a boy's day. In the first title, young Donald nurtures a small white worm he finds; Gorey's close-ups of the creature's various characteristics keep readers in suspense to the very end as to its ultimate identity. The second book begins, ""Another time Donald had a splinter."" As his mother removes it, he faces the situation bravely by daydreaming. Gorey aficionados will clamor for the classic pen-and-ink drawings in this pair of handsize volumes, and Neumeyer's understated text and endnotes on the collaborators' process complete the elegant presentation. (Mar.)