THE LEGEND OF LIGHTNING LARRY

A ``performer of stories'' creates a tall-tale superhero for our time: when Larry strides into the Cottonmouth Saloon he orders lemonade, with a smile, and when he shoots outlaws like ``Crooked Curt'' and ``Evil-Eye McNeevil,'' it's ``just a little bolt of light'' that hits them right in the heart and reforms them on the spot. It's all too goody-good to be true, of course, but Shepard tells his tale with such exuberant good humor and explores the consequences with such comical logic (bank robbers, shot through the heart with Larry's unusual ammunition, turn so far around that they make deposits on the spot) that the moral doesn't detract from the fun. Goffe's deftly limned cartoon-style art, touched up with desert-bright colors, adds nicely to the merriment. A readaloud that could lighten up classes well up in the elementary grades. (Picture book. 6-11)