Rocky Bobocky the Pi

Rocky is an exuberant pizzeria proprietor whose generosity keeps his business teetering on the brink of financial disaster. Betty is a newly unemployed accountant and mother of six pizza-eaters who lives across the street. She's good with numbers, he's good with pizza-it's a business match made in heaven. And so it proves in this jaunty picture book. Ellison spins her tale with gusto and heart, if not fine prose (""Rocky wasn't worth doodley as a businessman""), and the sprightly mood is played up through Bolling's ebullient, slightly offbeat watercolors. Rocky, with his pink cherub cheeks, unruly fringe of gray hair and plaid socks, seems the perfect partner for the flame-haired Betty, whose penchant for loud dresses and rose-colored (literally) glasses lights up the pages. The story may have no more staying power than one of Rocky's pies, but it's an enjoyable outing, with ample visual punch. Ages 5-9. (Apr.)