SOAP SOUP

``Ice and cream./Sleep and dream./Some words seem/to go together,'' remarks Kuskin early in this casual-seeming but carefully crafted cycle of verses, whose ideas move as smoothly from one to the next as the ``Wind and weather'' on the first page. Parts of the body (``This is the way a mouth goes./Up: smile./Down: frown./Bottom lip stuck out:/pout.''); food (the title's concoction is brewed for a former friend); people observed, admired, or deplored; then back to the self, this time within (``There is a me inside of me,/inside/the outside me/you see''). Though the words here are simple and the humor direct, there's an inner core of meaning for thoughtful readers to ponder, while the deft play with sounds is delightful. The cheerfully unassuming illustrations, often interspersed with the words, make a perfect complement. (Poetry/Easy reader. 4-8)