PORKER'S TAXI

Porker—the appealingly bulbous bear in Porker Finds a Chair (1989)—tries to use the wheelbarrow he's just found as a taxi. After he has some difficulty pushing two rambunctious rabbits uphill, he's astonished at how easy it is to take a huge teacher down to the train station. When a lady in fur proves hard to push, he concludes that it's the fur that makes the difference. Each new passenger adds data that the charming simpleton tries to incorporate into his preposterous theories; finally, the rabbits point out the one salient factor: Porker's direction on the hill. Kids will chuckle over Porker's impeccable but misguided logic- -and enjoy figuring out what's really going on before he does. The book's small size (6''x7'') and simple, cartoony illustrations add to the appeal. (Picture book. 3-8)