JULY IS A MAD MOSQUITO

A baker's dozen of lightly lyrical poems in a cycle of months summed up in a final entry: ``January's a polar bear;/February's a mole....'' Though he offers few epiphanies, Lewis's descriptions are vivid, his images are fresh and appealing, and he makes deft use of a variety of rhyme schemes and verse forms, including a lovely haiku for August: ``At bedtime, outside/my room...nighthawk and trainsong/on the wind's guitar.'' Hall's stylized art, in a rainbow of yummy hues as bright as Italian ices, makes this useful offering especially attractive. (Poetry/Picture book. 6-10)