SKUNK LANE

What do you do with a son who just lies around in his messy room listening to music--when his old friend is already head garbage collector, and has built his own house, too? Jarvey Blackpaw's parents decide that the only way to get Jarvey moving is to throw him out of their house. So Jarvey, with his backpack and harmonica, has to spend a rainy night in the woods. But the next night he moves in with a band (they like his music) and immediately takes it upon himself to clean up the house and cook breakfast. The inevitable next step is to have a party, and Jarvey invites his parents. ""I guess you have to be lost before you can be round,"" says Jarvey, summing up the conventional wisdom of the young-adult search. But just making skunks of all the characters doesn't make this obvious little homily a tale for young children.