MAKING FRIENDS WITH FRANKENSTEIN

McNaughton's grimacing, pop-eyed cartoon figures are the perfect accompaniment for his uninhibited rhymes and free verse. Even though it can descend into indelicacy or tedium (``Widdly, waddly, kink-a-joo/Sing the monster SONG!/Diddly, doddly, stinky- poo/Bang the monster GONG!'') the clever title poem (``When I am feeling lonely,/For Igor I will send./We'll go to my laboratory/And we will make a friend!'') is more characteristic; some of the wordplay here recalls Jack Prelutsky's. Most selections feature monsters or ghoulish events (``A Cyclops Can Never Be Friends With Another'': ``They never see eye to eye''), while unpleasant surprises await visitors to ``Jekyll and Hyde Park.'' But some contemporary concerns are addressed: ``Georgie Porgie's been so bad—/Kissed the girls and make them mad,'' and ``a caged bird isn't singing out of joy.'' Page layouts, as varied as the poetry, add visual interest to a robust collection whose humor, while occasionally gross, is sure to appeal to the target audience. (Poetry. 11-13)