A THOUSAND COUSINS

Poems about family life—``A Thousand Cousins,'' ``Daddy's Snore,'' ``My Baby Uncle,'' etc. Most have punchy endings; each revolves around some gimmick. The cleverness of these gimmicks is limited but not entirely unappreciable. All except one are first- person monologues, diluted with colloquialisms (``gussied up,'' ``sissiest buttercup''); the rhythms aren't always tight; abhor gains a silent e (to make it look more like a rhyme for snore?). Lewis provides squiggles in ink and brushes of watercolors, and exhibits the same easy sense of humor as the poems. The collaborators from Somebody Catch My Homework (1993) haven't come up with an original work, but readers awaiting the next Prelutsky or Silverstein can bide their time with this one. (Picture book/poetry. 6-10)