TAFFY AND MELISSA MOLASSES

Nufin' ever happens,"" frets post-kindergartener Taffy, surveying the quiet farm at the start of summer, and his observation is accurate even if his pronunciation isn't: this is one of the least substantial of Mrs. Haywood's many stories. Neither Taffy nor slightly older sister Melissa nor their friend Jonathan has any individuality, and most of the happenings are either disengaged (like the unexpected, unattended birth of a pony), elaborately inconsequential (a raw egg getting in with a batch of hard-boiled eggs, the school bus driver having a twin), or simply unlikely (a screen door hooking itself, a pony unhooking another). Moreover, there's virtually no continuity besides healthy appetites and Taffy's baby talk. Starchy.