LAURIE TELLS

``It's hard to believe/how happy I used to be....I have places on my body/I don't want anyone to touch./They're mine, only for me,/and it makes me sick/to think he touched me there.'' A sexually abused 11-year-old shares her emotions, remembering how she trusted and loved Dad when she was little, her horror when he first molested her two years ago, her one tentative attempt to tell Mom, who refused to believe her. In despair, Laurie considers other adults she might confide in (``he likes my father....I don't think I can trust him''; ``she's too nice and happy to ever believe...''), settling on Aunt Jan, who's ``never been afraid of my dad, even when they were kids.'' Her aunt's response is exemplary: loving and efficient. Realistically, she doesn't know all the answers, but she does know how to begin, by offering comfort, refuge, and help in finding the next step. Karpinski's watercolor vignettes reflect Laurie's feelings with admirable sensitivity. Thoughtful and carefully wrought, a valuable aid to coping and understanding. (Fiction. 8-12)