TOUGH EDDIE

The message of Tough Eddie is plain and simple: It's okay for a boy to have a dollhouse. After establishing Eddie as a regular guy who also plays spaceship with building blocks, Winthrop shows him hiding his dollhouse from his friends Andrew and Philip, then punching his older sister when she gives away his secret. Next day at school (kindergarten?), Eddie is touchy and defensive, though Andrew and Philip don't tease him about the dollhouse. Then, in the park, a bee lands on Eddie's nose; he waits calmly for it to fly away; the other kids commend him for bravery; and Eddie feels secure enough to bring his dollhouse out of the closet. A narrowly utilitarian story, but neat and natural enough for the purpose; and Hoban's cheerful pictures, which resemble her illustrations for Miriam Cohen's classroom stories, give it color and personality. JLG.