FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK

Sixteen previously unpublished stories by well-known authors, grouped by topics (family, friends, school), with brief biographical statements about (and sometimes from) the contributors. Familiar favorites (Walter Dean Myers; Constance Greene; Marjorie Sharmat; Marion Dane Bauer) are sure to draw readers, and the narratives read well, but, unfortunately, most of them aren't really very funny. Nor are the entries particularly effective as short stories, a demanding genre that isn't the usual arena for most of these proficient novelists. M. E. Kerr does come up with a fine story (``The Author'') that deals with relationships between art and truth, and between parent and child, but—like the story within her story—it's less hilarious than ironic. And Johanna Hurwitz's ``Rabbits,'' starring old friend Lucas Cott, produces at least a chuckle. Not a bad collection—there are some nice moments and some thought- provoking ideas here—but that the wonderful title stirs up expectations that are liable to be disappointed. (Short stories. 9-13)