A PLUMP AND PERKY TURKEY

"The people in Squawk Valley/ were downhearted and depressed./ Thanksgiving was approaching,/ but without its special guest." All the turkeys have fled town except for one fowl named Pete who responds to a ploy—a "model wanted" ad for the local art show. After posing for various sculptors, painters and collage artists, Pete steals off with a turkey made from oatmeal as payment and joins up with his other feathered pals. Shelly's exaggerated settings and caricatures do little to season Bateman's (Leprechaun Gold) prolix delivery and half-baked premise. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)