THE MAN WHO WORE ALL HIS CLOTHES

The Gaskitt family has an exciting morning in this tilt-a-whirl tale from the ever-innovative Ahlberg (The Adventures of Bert, p. 798, etc.). Mr. Gaskitt rises in the morning, dons three sets of socks and underwear, three shirts, two pairs of pants, four sweaters, and four coats. Has Mr. Gaskitt blown a gasket? Not at all, for, after helping his taxi-driver wife and bouncy children foil a hapless bank robber, he reports at last to work—as a department-store Santa. Ahlberg divides his simply related lark into 11 brief chapters, shifting point of view freely from Gaskitt to Gaskitt, adding occasional surreal details, such as a car radio that reports only misinformation. McEwen (Here Comes Tabby Cat, not reviewed, etc.) adds a few quirky notes to the bright, comic cartoon scenes of an increasingly grumpy bandit fleeing a growing crowd of pursuers (but finding time to pick up a pizza on the way). The Gaskitts score a direct hit on the funny bone, and young readers will hope they haven’t seen the last of this resourceful clan. (Easy fiction. 6-8)