NONSENSE! HE YELLED

Television actor/writer Eschbacher proves, as have so many before him, that crafting silly verses with trite rhymes doth not automatically another Seuss make. Here an alphabet of boys (with one girl who pops up and refuses to leave) introduce themselves, then describe something that they have, do, or want: “My name is Sig / I’ve got a pig— / A little pig that wears a wig. / He’s proud of it, as you can see. / That’s how a wig pig ought to be.” Some of the lads here do focus on physical or other differences, but the value of that is negated by too many literary nose dives: “My name is Pete. / I come complete / With giant toes on giant feet. / It’s hard to find good shoes for me, / So when I do, I shout, ‘Wee Hee!’ ” Johnson’s idea of style in the dark, retro-cartoon illustrations is to color outside the lines. Buy two copies of One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish (the cost will be about the same), and send one to the author for further study. (Poetry. 7-9)