DR. POMPO’S NOSE

More food play from the creators of How Are You Peeling? (1999), featuring an all-pumpkin cast photographed against monochromatic backgrounds. When Dr. Pompo finds a twisted bit of detritus, everyone has an opinion about what it is: a garden tool; a horn for calling sheep; a goat’s horn; a fossil. As the doctor knows, though, it’s actually a nose—and along comes Ms. Sniffen to reclaim it: “Good Hebbins . . . and how do you subboze / I lost it ober dare?” Taking brilliant advantage of each pumpkin’s distinctive shape and wrinkles, the authors carve only eyes and mouths, but evoke an astonishing range of expressions and personalities—capped by a populous pumpkin gallery on the endpapers that, alone, is worth the price of admission. In a final twist that will sure to set off giggles, the doctor reattaches Ms. Sniffen’s nose—backwards, by its thinner end. The short, rhymed text is a bit klunky, but the pictures are more than strong enough to compensate. (Picture book. 5-7)