PARTS

Arnold (The Simple People, 1992, etc.) cashes in by grossing out the picture-book set in this story in rhyme, which kids with rough-and-ready sensibilities will relish and fastidious adults will shun, for the same reasons. The goggle-eyed narrator has noticed that he loses hairs, his skin peels, and a tooth is loose, not to mention his discoveries of belly-button lint and nose yuck. He comes to the alarming conclusion that he's going bald and toothless, shedding his skin, losing his stuffing, and his brains are leaking out his nose. His parents reassure him that all these lost parts renew themselves. His response: ``That's really good to hear! Then tell me, what's this yellow stuff I got out of my ear?'' Stupid, silly, and base, in equal measure, this has watercolor illustrations that are textured with colored-pencil curlicues in such a way that they look hairy—like the tangles that clog a shower drain. (Book-of-the- Month Club) (Picture book. 4-8)