RATA-PATA-SCATA-FATA

A sunny, well-shaped tale about little Junjun, who'd rather dream than do the tasks his busy mother asks him to do. Instead, he utters the eponymous ``Caribbean gobbledy-gook'' (explained in a note as ``an old-time Virgin Islands way of talking nonsense'') in hopes of magical results—and, by happy chance, is rewarded each time: A fisherman happens to drop a fish as he passes, so that Jumjum is spared a trip to fetch one; the goat turns up on its own; tamarinds fall before he must pick them. And each time Junjun has a playful explanation (``The fish got dusty when it swam across town''), while his interchanges with Mommy, however purposeful, remain relaxed and affectionate. Meade's torn-paper collages—rough, white-bordered areas of radiant tropical hues- -are the perfect complement to an engagingly cadenced story that will be just right for sharing aloud. (Picture book. 4-8)